When Edward Met Bella
by jliane
Summary: So, can men and women really be friends? Edward Masen thinks so, and he's determined to prove it to the new woman in his life, the first grade teacher of his niece, little Lilly Whitlock. But does Edward's mind change when he gets to know Isabella Swan?
1. But Not For Me

**After working on this for a few months, COLDASICEx3 and I are super excited to post this story and get some feedback from you! **

**No worries, Stuck in the Middle With You and Dancing In The Moonlight will not be forgotten... We just had this playing around in our minds and couldn't wait to write it all down!**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: We don't own it...*sigh*...**

**Thanks to our awesome beta Admittedly Obsessed**

_It all began so well, but what an end!_

_This is the time a feller needs a friend,_

_When every happy plot ends with the marriage knot,_

_And there's no knot for me._

There was something about the first day of school that had me both nervous and excited. I had been teaching elementary school, first grade to be exact, ever since I graduated from college six years ago. Every September, I was just a little anxious before the year began. I knew it wasn't something that most parents wanted to hear. "Hi, I'm Bella, and I am terrified of your six-year-old." And as afraid as I was to admit it, I think that my first day of school nerves would probably never really go away. Everything had always worked out in the last few years I had been teaching; every child learned to read, every child could write the alphabet clearly, every child loved me. It was like I'd hit the jackpot.

This year was different from the others, though. I was starting out at a new school, a new city, an entirely new life. What was I getting myself into? Was this the right decision? The familiar panic swept through me and I glanced at the clock on the wall, noticing that I had fifteen minutes before my students would start arriving. Fifteen minutes to calm myself down.

Yes — this was the right decision. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into: a new life, away from everything I wanted to leave back in Forks, Washington. It had felt like home at one point in time. When I'd lived with my parents before I went to college, it was never a doubt in my mind that Forks would always be my home, even if the constant rain got on my nerves sometimes. When I 'come home' to teach, I was sure I couldn't be any happier...until Jacob Black returned to my life.

Jacob and I had always been friends because our families were so close, but we had fallen out of touch when I went away to school in California. I'd run into him again when I came home the summer after graduation. He had certainly matured in the few years that I had been away. He now looked more like a man than the sixteen-year-old I'd left behind four years earlier, although he never looked like a boy by any means. Something just changed that day and we became inseparable. Our parents were thrilled; my father could barely contain his excitement that Jacob would one day become an official part of the family.

I felt a sharp pain pass through my heart as I thought of what had happened next. After five years together, things with Jacob seemed to be going nowhere. I wanted to settle down, start a family. Jacob still wasn't ready, which I couldn't understand. I was sure he loved me and wanted to be with me, so where was the problem? Things finally boiled over when I confronted him one night over dinner. He said he wanted more time to get to know me as a spouse, to make sure this was right.

"Isn't that what we've been doing for the last five years?...For our whole lives? Thats a pretty weak excuse," I had said.

He looked surprised at my blunt approach. "Bella, I know you want to get married, but I just don't think marriage will be a part of my life."

"Do you want _me_ to be a part of your life?"

"Of course I do, but—"

"Shouldn't the fact that it's something important to me be reason enough to consider marriage?"

He sighed. "I just don't think so, Bella."

I moved out within the next week. Sure, I loved him, but what was the point? We'd been having that same conversation for years and I knew no matter how long I stuck around, nothing was going to change. No sooner had a moved out of Jacob's apartment, a job opened up in Oklahoma at a great elementary school. I seized the opportunity with both hands, knowing I just needed to get away from everything.

Naturally, my parents were devastated by the split, but in the end they understood and supported me in every way possible.

Pulling myself from my thoughts, I gasped when I looked up at the clock. I had wasted the last ten minutes on a painful trip down Memory Lane. I began walking around the room swiftly, remembering where I had assigned each student.

The door opened a few minutes later and a striking woman about my age walked in. "Hi, I'm Alice Whitlock," she introduced herself and motioned to a young girl by her side, "And this is my daughter Lilly."

Ah yes, Lilly. I had her placed in the first group of desks to my left. "Hello, Lilly. I'm Ms. Swan."

She was a beautiful young girl, long shiny black hair and bright blue eyes. She smiled up at me sweetly before my attention turned back to her mother as she began to speak.

"Lilly's uncle is going to be picking her up after school today," she began, but was cut off by her daughter's enthusiastic shout.

"Uncle Eddie is taking me to get ice cream!"

Alice sighed, embarrassed by her daughter's interruption and smiled at me. "He's been promising her all weekend that if she was a good girl at school today he would take her to get ice cream. He works at the University across town, so he should be here pretty soon after school ends."

"I'm sure today will be a great day, and Lilly will have no trouble earning her ice cream. We'll be sure to give Uncle Eddie a good report!" I glanced down at Lilly and she was smiling up at me, excitement evident on her face.

Other parents started coming in, and Alice said her goodbyes as the first day to my new life began, whether I liked it or not.

It wasn't a horrible day, for which I was relieved. I wasn't sure I could handle much else going wrong in my life. I continued to be impressed with little Lilly Whitlock, who was so well-behaved for someone her age. Her only slip ups for the day revolved around the words 'Uncle Eddie' and 'ice cream.'

Today had been my day for recess and lunch duty, so I had to stay outside and watch all of the first graders play. Tomorrow, I would actually get a chance to enjoy my lunch. Lilly came to sit beside me just as I was observing some children about to have a chicken fight on the monkey bars. I was about to stand up and split the group up when one of the other teachers on duty came to the rescue.

"Ms. Swan?" Lilly got my attention, "What time is it?"

"Its 12:30. Why?"

Lilly sighed, "How much longer until Uncle Eddie can take me for ice cream?"

"Just a few hours," I told her, spinning her around so I could straighten the ribbon in her hair. She had been playing on the tire swing before she'd come to talk to me, and her half ponytail was dangerously close to falling out.

Lilly sighed again, deeper this time. "I can't wait that long."

"What is your favorite flavor?" I asked, deciding to distract her from the time.

"Oh! That's easy! Chocolate chip cookie dough!"

I chuckled at her excitement and turned her back around once I'd straightened her ribbon, "That's a good one! Its my mom's favorite. I'm more of a vanilla and coffee fan."

"You have _two_ favorites?" Lilly turned to me, eyes wide with wonder.

I laughed again, "Yes. I love them both equally. They taste amazing together."

"I want to have two favorites, too!" Lilly exclaimed, and started naming off other flavors that could take the place as her second favorite. I had to smile, she was definitely going to be an addition to the classroom this year.

The other children in the class weren't nearly as well-behaved. Some were quite fond of talking, some loved to draw on every surface, and some were just plain rambunctious. All of that aside, though, it was a very successful day. That didn't mean I was disappointed when the final bell rang, however. I more than welcomed the end of the school day.

The dull routine of sending children away to their parents began, and I made my way to the carport outside of my classroom, greeting parents once more and handing out supply lists. A shrill shriek pulled me from the monotony and I panicked briefly before I noticed who produced the offending noise. Lilly Whitlock was running into the arms of a beautiful man.

My breath caught in my throat as Lilly motioned for me to come over. She was tugging her Uncle's hand with all of her might, pulling him along behind her.

"Ms. Swan!" she called excitedly, "Ms. Swan! I want you to meet Uncle Eddie!"

**So there ya go! We've got another chapter ready, so let us know what you think and we'll send Edward your way!**


	2. Doing The Best I Can

****

This is COLDASICEx3, and I'm writing Edward's point of view! We all love to get into that beautiful head of his, and I'm honored to be writing in his point of view.

Jlaine is writing in Bella's point of view. We're trying not to repeat the same events in different points of view, just to keep the story moving.

Don't forget to review and let us know what you think! We'd love to hear from you all--thanks so much to everyone who added the story to their favorites and reviewed!

Still don't own it...

_Lord, I was born a ramblin' man  
Trying to make a living and doing the best I can  
When it's time for leaving, I hope you'll understand  
That I was born a rambling man_

**Edward Masen**

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," I greeted as I walked briskly down the stairway toward the front of the college lecture room. I saw nothing but the back of my students' heads, but I could sense their nervousness without seeing their faces. Some of them were freshmen who had chosen this class randomly; some where upperclassmen who needed my class for a degree program. Some took it just for something to do.

"My name is Edward Masen, and I will be your teacher for the next semester." I opened my messenger bag and pulled out a stack of white papers that contained my requirements for the course. "In case anyone is confused, this is a music history class. If you are in the wrong room, please exit now."

I paused briefly, scanning the room from my view at the front. Anxious, nervous faces greeted my own. The first day of the fall semester was always nerve-racking. I reached into my shirt pocket and pulled a glasses case, and then placed them on the podium in front of me.

The stack of papers felt heavy in my hands as I lifted them from the podium and placed them on a young female's desk, causing her to jump. "Take one, pass them back," I said, walking back to the front of the room.

I picked up a piece of chalk and scribbled out my name and the name of the class. I wasn't exactly sure why this college still had chalkboards, but I took advantage of the one in this particular classroom. The sound of the chalk against the board and the rustle of papers cut through the tense air.

"When I call your name, please raise your hand," I said, grabbing my roll sheet and the seating chart. "Your current seat is now your permanent seat."

Rather than call the names alphabetically, I randomly selected names from the roster, curious as to which faces went with which names. "Jessica Stanley?"

A girl with extremely curly hair raised her hand, giving me a timid smile. I marked her present and her current seat.

"Michael Newton?"

"Ah, it's Mike," he corrected. "Just Mike."

I nodded, a smile pulling at the corners of my mouth. He was a blond kid that seemed to be trying too hard. Jessica Stanley couldn't stop staring.

Another fifteen names later and I finished taking roll, tucking the paper in my bag. I hopped up on the desk beside the podium and swung my legs lazily.

"My name is Edward Masen," I said again. I leaned over and grabbed the glasses from the podium. "And I am the only teacher in this fine institution that does not wear glasses. It's already difficult being one of the youngest members of the faculty here, but couple that with having good eyes and it's practically impossible for me to be on a level with other teachers." I pulled the glasses from the case and examined them closely. "I bought these at a garage sale during my first year of teaching. I had the glass replaced with non-prescription strength, so I can wear them like this..." I put them on, enjoying the few chuckles from my students. "And fit in."

In reality, the glasses were about as ugly as glasses can get. They had huge plastic frames like the ones worn in the sixties. My sister hated them; she begged me to let her pick out some stylish frames instead of the old lady glasses, but I refused. Alice, I decided, would have to live with the disappointment.

"This class isn't a core class, so it'll be easier than your math or science courses; however, don't blow this class off just because it's not a core. It will still lower your GPA and people will make fun of you for failing.

"Your final will be simple _if you do the work._ You can choose from two options: You must choose a composer that is not well known-no Beethoven, no Bach, no Brahms, no Mozart, no Haydn, no Debussy, and certainly no Pachelbel. Find someone that not everyone knows and do some sort of research project. Power points, essays, presentations... It's your choice.

"Or," I continued, making it a point to meet everyone's eyes at least once. "You can research a modern band-alive or deceased-and do some sort of presentation on the influences the band used. Start thinking about your final now, because it's fifty percent of your overall grade."

Jessica Stanley was in the front row, taking notes like crazy. I didn't understand why, since I put my exact words on the syllabus she had in front of her. When she noticed my stare, she gave me what she probably thought was a flirtatious grin. I shuddered inwardly.

"Are there any questions?" I asked, ignoring the front row entirely. I looked beyond to see Lauren Mallory licking her lips and Angela Webber tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Jessica raised her hand into the air, so I had no choice but to call on her. "Yes?" I asked, trying to be polite.

"Are you single?"

The other students in the class snickered at the bold question. A few of the young men rolled their eyes noticeably.

I choked on my own saliva. After two years of teaching at the University of Oklahoma, that was a question I was unprepared for. "Yes," I managed to say. "I am single."

Lauren Mallory's hand shot up. Without waiting for me to call on her, she said, "What is your policy on dating students?"

My knuckles were drumming on the desk as my legs swung. I shook my head at their attempts, but decided to humor them. "I don't really have one... I've never been in a situation like that before."

"But if you were," she pressed, looking eager. "Would you be completely against it?"

I laughed, realizing that she was never going to let the question go. "Considering that it's against school policy and most moral values, I am against it. If the desire were that strong, I would probably wait for them to graduate."

"But that's four years away!" Jessica nearly shouted, looking crestfallen.

I shrugged. "Talk to me again in four years, Miss Stanley."

Her shoulders fell, and Lauren's mouth was pressed into a thin line. I looked over their heads and observed the time on the clock that hung in the back of the classroom. It was a quarter till three o'clock, and my niece, Lilly, got out of school at three. Lilly had begged me to pick her up from school on her first day of first grade, making me promise to take her out for ice cream to celebrate.

I took more questions to pass the time, but after five minutes, I realized that I needed to leave in order to not be incredibly late in picking up my niece.

The students in my class seemed surprised to be dismissed early, but I heard no complaints. They filed out of the room slowly - too slow for my taste. Once I got past them, I sprinted to my Volvo and started the engine. Peeling out of the parking lot and weaving my way in and out of midday traffic, I got on the road that would lead me to Lilly's elementary school.

Kids were running around the school like ants, making me feel less guilty for being ten minutes late. Lilly was playing with a group of children, none as striking as she was. Lilly truly got lucky, and we all noticed her similarity to Jasper and Alice.

I parked my Volvo and climbed out, walking toward Lilly. She saw me first and shrieked happily.

"Uncle Eddie!" Lilly shouted, running into my arms. The high pitch caught the attention of a beautiful brunette standing near some of the over children. Her eyes frantically searched the crowd and relaxed when they saw Lilly. She never looked at me.

I laughed and scooped my little niece up, swinging her around and listening to her squeal.

"You have to meet Ms. Swan!" Lilly exclaimed as I put her back down. She was grabbing my hand with her tiny fingers and pulling me with all of her strength.

"Is she your teacher?" I asked, letting her guide me through the throngs of students and parents.

Lilly nodded, still yanking me forward. She was extraordinary - she had the strength of Jasper and the determination of Alice, a deadly combination.

I spotted the head full of brunette hair that reflected the harsh August sun, and I sucked in a breath. I hoped she wasn't a parent.

"Ms. Swan!" Lilly shouted. The brunette looked at us, and I noticed that her eyes were a rich, chocolate color. "Ms. Swan! I want you to meet my Uncle Eddie!"

I made a mental note to punch Emmett for teaching Lilly my nickname.

**So...what do you think?**


	3. Mister Zero

Coldasicex3 here with Edward's POV! Don't forget to let us know what you think!

Don't own it...

_**Harry**: Right. So I go to the door, and there were moving men there. Now I start to get suspicious. I say, "Helen when did you call these movers?", and she doesn't say anything. So I asked the movers, "When did this woman book you for this gig?". And they're just standing there. Three huge guys, one of them was wearing a T-shirt that says, "Don't fuck with Mr. Zero." So I said, "Helen, when did you make this arrangement?". She says, "A week ago." I said, "You've known for a week and you didn't tell me?". And she says, "I didn't want to ruin your birthday." __**Jess**: You're saying Mr. Zero knew you were getting a divorce a week before you did? __**Harry**: Mr. Zero knew._

**Edward Masen**

I was cramming in the library before my Music History test when I first met Tanya Denali. I was sitting at one of the large tables, piles and piles of notes and textbooks spread out all around me. I wasn't sure what time it was, but I felt grateful that the library was open twenty-four hours. I had a bottle of Mountain Dew beside me with another six pack next to my chair. My iPod headphones were shoved in my ears as I tried to read my notes and memorize the snippets of the music that played.

Tanya floated over to my table and called my name, but I didn't hear her; I didn't hear anything except the music in my ears and the words on the paper. She finally reached down and tapped me on the shoulder, her long fingernail poking into my skin.

"Can I have one?" she asked, indicating my six pack of Mountain Dew. I remember seeing the strawberry blonde strands of hair fall from her bun and the slight dark circles under her eyes. She was up late for a study session, like me.

We spent the rest of our night talking about our dreams and aspirations. She wanted to be a music teacher, like me. She wanted to work in a prestigious college, like me. When I looked down at my watch and saw that it was six in the morning, I knew studying for my test was a lost cause; and, at the time, it was worth it.

Dating Tanya was easy and natural - like breathing. We studied for tests together and compared notes, always keeping each other on task. She was my first true love, and I really believed we would spend the rest of our lives together teaching music.

As we neared the end of grad school, we both realized that it would be unrealistic to think we would be able to work at the same school - let alone the same state. She received a job offer from the University of Minnesota making a decent wage. I was destined to remain at the University of Oklahoma where my father, Carlisle, had offered me a position. His job offer wasn't because of my qualifications as a teacher or my willingness; it was entirely due to his influence. I was grateful, but I wanted to make it on my own someday.

I was drinking an iced coffee from Starbucks when she told me she wanted to take the Minnesota job. It was early May - classes had just ended, and we were armed with degrees that could take us anywhere in the United States. I sipped my coffee slowly, letting the information process through my mind.

She reached across the table and grabbed my trembling hand. "We're not the same people we were three years ago, Edward." Her smile was sad.

When she said that, I really looked at her. She was still beautiful, of course, but she wasn't the Tanya I'd fallen in love with. She wasn't as soft and sweet, and she had sworn off Mountain Dew all together. We rarely argued about things, but I couldn't help but feel bored with our relationship when we were together. As these thoughts flooded my mind, I realized that I wasn't so worried about being alone.

So, over the little bistro table outside of Starbucks, we hugged and kissed for the last time. I told her I loved her, and she returned the kind words. After that, she went to Minnesota and I stayed in Oklahoma.

I spent my first year of teaching in a daze, seeing students with the similar hair color that caused my stomach to twist itself into knots. I never thought I'd get through that stage of the pain, but it faded away into the background. Soon, I didn't feel it at all. My newly acquired free time was spent planning lessons or babysitting my niece.

Now, a year later, I was letting that niece introduce me to the only woman that could trump Tanya's beauty. The feeling I had when I first met Tanya returned, only with Ms. Swan. Who was this woman? She wasn't anything special in the first glance; plain brown hair, pale skin. Her eyes, however, revealed an entirely new dimension. Before I knew what was happening, I was shaking her tiny hand in mine and introducing myself as Uncle Eddie...

"Lilly's told me so much about you," Ms. Swan had said, winking at the little girl that stood between us.

"Uncle Eddie is buying me ice cream today! He said if I was good, I would get ice cream. Was I good, Ms. Swan?"

Ms. Swan bent down and brought her eyes level with Lilly's. "You were a very well-behaved young woman," she noted seriously, tucking a strand of Lilly's dark hair away from her face.

Lilly jumped up in joy and wrapped herself around my leg. "Let's go, Uncle Eddie!"

The teacher stuck her hand out to me, a small smile playing on her delicate lips. "Hey," she said quietly. "I'm Bella Swan, Lilly's teacher."

I wrapped my hand around hers and gave it a soft shake; her skin was extremely delicate. "Uncle Eddie," I responded. I nearly slapped my head as the words came out of my mouth. She smiled at my slip-up. "Or Edward Masen," I corrected.

"Nice to meet you, Uncle Eddie Masen," she said, laughing. She looked down at Lilly. "She was a very good girl today," she informed me.

My shock wore off long enough for me to lift my niece onto my shoulders. Her little fingers held onto my hair for safety, causing my teeth to grind. "Do you think she deserves ice cream?" I asked apprehensively. I could feel Lilly nodding madly.

"She's been talking about this all day," Bella explained, not really meeting my eyes. "Even when she wasn't supposed to be talking." Her tone was light and airy, not angry and condescending.

"You're welcome to join us, Bella," I said without thinking. "Hearing about it all day must've sparked your appetite."

Her cheeks suddenly flushed an attractive shade of pink that oddly reminded me of Tanya's hair. I could feel my stomach turn. "Thank you for the offer," she said politely, "but I have to start on tomorrow's lesson plans."

I opened my mouth to suggest we do it another time, but Lilly cut me off. "Please, Ms. Swan? Please come with us!"

She looked up at Lilly and gave her a sad smile. "Another time, dear," she said, patting her leg that swung over my shoulder.

Lilly tugged at my hair, causing my face to twist in pain. The corners of Bella's mouth twitched as she tried not to smile.

"Uncle Eddie," she commanded, pulling at my hair again. "Let's go!"

"It was good to meet you, Bella," I said to her, capturing her eyes with mine.

She shifted her weight nervously. "You too, Edward."

I carried Lilly to my car and strapped her in the back seat, next to the car seat. Alice required that Lilly be in a car seat since she was so tiny (due mostly in part to Alice's petite build), but I thought since Lilly was five years old, she could sit in the back in a regular seat. On her fifth birthday, I made Lilly promise that she wouldn't tell her mother that I let her sit in the back without the car seat - it was our little secret.

As I eased the Volvo out of its parking spot, Lilly's mouth began moving. She was like Alice; she never stopped talking for more than a minute.

"Ms. Swan asked me about my favorite kind of ice cream," she said, bouncing up and down. "I told her it was chocolate chip cookie dough. She said she liked vanilla bean."

"Really." I glanced in my mirror at Lilly. "Stop bouncing, Lil. You'll loosen up the seatbelt strap."

Her body stopped moving, but her mouth did not. "I can't wait for ice cream! Momma says I'm not allowed to have any because I'm grounded, but she said it's okay if I do it with you."

"Why are you grounded?"

"I snuck into the kitchen and ate all of Daddy's chocolate ice cream," she said, unashamed. I couldn't help but chuckle.

The ice cream parlor wasn't busy, so I parked right up front. Lilly practically flew out of the car and into the store. I followed her quickly, taking fast steps that would usually put yards of distance between us.

She was already ordering when I caught up to her. "I want a scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough, vanilla bean, and coffee!"

I came up behind her and bent down to her level. "Vanilla and coffee?" I asked.

"Mm-hmm!" she said happily, nodding her head.

"Why vanilla and coffee?" I looked to the worker who had taken Lilly's order and said, "I'll take strawberry."

The worker handed Lilly a tall waffle cone piled with three huge scoops of ice cream. She took a generous lick, getting ice cream on her chin. "They're Ms. Swan's favorites!"

I couldn't explain why this sudden tidbit of information caused my heart to accelerate. The gears in my mind suddenly started formulating a plan that involved vanilla bean and coffee-flavored ice cream and a surprised Bella Swan.

Lilly would be happy to see me again tomorrow, especially if I surprised her with ice cream. The second day of school was always more difficult than the first, so Lilly would deserve the treat. I could swing by with chocolate chip cookie dough and coffee and vanilla...

"Uncle Eddie, you have to pay!" Lilly exclaimed, tugging at my sleeve. I shook my head of my plan and handed the cashier a five dollar bill.

"Thank you for the ice cream, Uncle Eddie!" she said, skipping to the car.

"Anytime, Lilly," I told her. Then, to myself I added, "Anytime."


	4. Chapter 4

Jliane here, with some BPOV! Thank you all SO much for your feedback. You're the best and we LOVE you! This one is a little short, but I still hope you enjoy it!

Much love to coldasicex3 as always! And to Admittedly Obsessed for being the coolest beta ever!

My heart finally slowed down and returned to its normal speed about five minutes after Lilly and her beautiful uncle left. My shaking hands made it impossible for me to organize anything at the moment, so I sat down on one of the desks and folded my hands in my lap, allowing myself time to think.

My main question was: Why? Why were my hands shaking? Why was my heart pounding out of my chest? Why did my breath catch when he took my hand in his?  
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts and realizing that my nerves had calmed down. I didn't want to date anyone; I'd just come out of a five-year relationship on the Road to Nowhere. I wasn't ready to share my life with someone like that again.

Wait. Hold the phone. Who said he wanted to date me? We talked for two minutes, and he really gave no impression that he was even remotely interested...and why did it matter if he _was_ interested in me or not? Hadn't I just been planning to say no to any advances?

I let my thoughts float back to the expression on Lilly's face every time she talked about her Uncle Eddie today. She was adorable, grinning from ear to ear as she spoke about ice cream. She simply adored him.

I had to quit day dreaming about this striking bronze-haired stranger before I lost my entire afternoon. Shaking my head again, I laughed at myself quietly as I hopped off of the desk. I was ridiculous.

Overall it had been a successful first day of class and I was very excited to get the year going. I was finally beginning to believe I made the right decision.

As I finished up my work, I thought of my plans for the night: a phone call home, a Lean Cuisine heated up in time to catch my favorite movie on TBS, dreaming of Lilly's uncle. I sighed.

Yes, I was truly ridiculous...and pathetic.

My drive home didn't last too long, and I managed to make it into my small house just in time to hear Charlie leaving me a message.

"Hey, Bells, it's your dad. I, uh...just wanted to check in and see how your first day went...."

I could tell he was struggling with what to leave on the message, and I really did miss him, so I picked up the phone before he could continue.

"Hey, Dad. I just walked through the door."

"Oh, hey, Bella. How are you doing? I just wanted to check on you..."

"Thanks. It was a long day, but it wasn't so bad. How's home?"

"A little empty now that you're gone."

I could tell Charlie was uncomfortable with small talk and our conversation lagged awkwardly for a few moments before I brought up sports and managed to salvage the next ten minutes of our phone call.

I was just about to tell him I had to go fix dinner when he went for the kill.

"So...I saw Jacob today."

My heart stopped and I winced at the suffocating feeling that descended upon my chest.

"Did you?"

"Yeah, he was working in the garage when I went to visit Billy this afternoon. He still looks upset, Bells. Maybe you should come home--"

"No, Dad." My voice was firm and it surprised me because my body was shaking terribly. "I'm not coming home. I'm starting a new life out here. I'm really enjoying the school I'm working at so far, and I'm ready to move on."

"Bella, you made your point. I'm sure Jake feels really bad. Please, just come home..."

I sighed. "I already have friends here." That was a stretch. Lilly flashed through my mind, and I almost laughed out loud at the thought of explaining to my father why I should stay in Oklahoma because of my six-year-old student.

I'm sure he wouldn't like the idea of me staying because of my student's uncle either.

"I'm staying in Oklahoma. I like it here. Jacob will be fine. I'll be fine. I have to go make dinner now..."

We said our goodbyes quickly and I hung up the phone, too shaken up by the conversation centered around Jake to do anything at the moment. I allowed myself five minutes to wallow in self-pity before I stood up and made myself walk into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

It wasn't long before all thoughts of Jacob were forgotten, and my traitorous mind allowed my thoughts to travel to little Lilly Whitlock and her beautiful Uncle Eddie.

* * * *

Despite my confidence at the end of the previous day, I was a bundle of nerves when the second day of class began. My classroom was empty as I waited, almost frozen in place, for my students to arrive. Lilly was the first, again, and I was surprised to find myself a little disappointed that her uncle didn't drop her off.

Of course he wouldn't drop her off, I scolded myself, he didn't drop her off yesterday. Quit being silly.

"How was she yesterday?" Lilly's mother was talking to me. Alice, right?

"She was great. Very excited about ice cream," I smiled as Lilly hugged my leg before skipping over to her desk.

"Oh, I could hurt Edward for buying her that ice cream. He let her have three scoops! She was bouncing off the walls all night. It was a miracle I got her to sleep!"

I laughed, picturing Alice about to pull her spiky hair out trying to get Lilly to go to bed. "Well, we have a big day ahead of us, so she should be pretty worn out by the time she gets home today."

Alice sighed in relief and smiled as she waved goodbye to Lilly and made her way out of the classroom.

Before I could ask Lilly how she had enjoyed her ice cream the day before, all of the other students began to arrive and my attention was forced elsewhere. Two students were already sick and one young boy began bawling the second his mother left the room. Today was going to be a long day. I took a deep breath, beginning my lesson over the wails of the little boy. He would calm down in a few minutes...they always do.

Reading and math went well, but I lost everyone when they had to work on their handwriting. Groans filled the room and a few kids even fell asleep at their desks. This was not good. Thinking quickly, I ran to my CD player and pulled out an old CD that my last class had loved.

Popping it in the player, I got everyone to stand up and move to the back of the room. The kids looked at me like I was crazy as I danced around them, calling for them to do the same. Lilly was the first to join in, twirling gracefully around the room.

Soon the entire class was dancing and we were all out of breath. The kids were wide awake now and were jittery in their seats when they moved back to their desks. I made a mental note to include free dance every day.

I was approached again by Lilly at recess. "Hey, Lilly, how was ice cream?"

Her eyes grew wide and she almost fell off of the bench we were sitting on, she was bouncing so high.

"It was so much fun! Uncle Eddie let me get three scoops!"

I faked surprise, "He did!?"

"Uh huh!" Lilly nodded with excitement, "I got coffee and vanilla and chocolate chip cookie dough!"

"All three?" This time I really was surprised.

"Yep! I told Uncle Eddie that they were your favorites and he let me get them."

I wasn't sure what to say to that. She talked to her uncle about me? I just smiled at her and sent her to go play again.

The day ended quickly after lunch. I sent the class off to music and then only had a simple social studies lesson to teach and the day was over. Ironically enough, the young boy who was in tears earlier in the day didn't want to leave. His mother glanced at me warily as she dragged him out of the door.

"Sorry," I mouthed. I made my way out to the carport where the rest of the students were being picked up. Lilly was by my side in an instant, leaning onto my leg lightly as she yawned. Right at that moment Alice pulled up and I noticed that she visibly relaxed as she took in Lilly's yawning form.

The young girl perked up the second she saw her mother. "Mommy! I made you a card today! Bye, Ms. Swan!" Lilly waved at me and plowed toward her mother.

I turned to survey the rest of the students and a flash of bronze caught my eye. My heart froze in my chest before resuming its steady beat, faster than before. What was he doing here?

I glanced around the carport quickly, eager for a distraction before Edward caught me staring at him. A little boy was pushing a girl his age off of the sidewalk and into the street. I could see the girl was close to tears and I ran to separate them, scolding the boy soundly and leading them both back to the other students.

I wiped my hands on my pants, getting rid of the nonexistent dirt on them, and turned to survey the students again. I had almost forgotten about the bronze-haired man known as Uncle Eddie until I heard someone clear their throat beside me. Turning my head quickly, I gasped.

He was so close.

I felt my cheeks flush as I got lost in his beautiful green eyes for the second time in the past two days.

Chapter End Notes:

So...thoughts? :)


	5. Baby Fish Mouth

This is COLDASICEX3's chapter---Another EPOV!! Enjoy! And review! Also--register for the forums over at Twilighted and come play with us! We love putting up teasers :)

_**Jess**: "Baby talk?" What's that? That's not a saying.__**Harry**: Oh, but "baby fish mouth" is sweeping the nation? I hear them talking._

**Edward Masen**

_This is quite possibly the stupidest thing you've ever done, Edward Masen. What kind of idiot shows up at an elementary school with ice cream for a certain first grade teacher? Genius, Edward, you're certain to win a prize for this act of madness._

There was no history of schizophrenia in my family, so I figured the negative, berating voice in my head was simply my subconscious mind telling me that I was an idiot for attempting this pathetic move on Bella Swan

Ah, Bella Swan. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. The name rolled off my tongue in a most interesting way. Being a man, I found her appearance quite desirable. Being a person, I believed that Bella Swan was a fascinating person that I wanted to learn more about. The rational side of me craved knowledge, and I couldn't explain why.

I guess that explains why I parked my Volvo and grabbing two ice cream cones—one flavor vanilla bean and one flavor coffee—and walking through the throngs of young children to a familiar brunette teacher. I scanned the crowds quickly for my raven-haired niece, hoping to use her as an excuse for the ice cream.

Bella was standing in the middle of the crowd, her eyes peeled for any sort of misconduct. She was glaring at a boy near the street who was threatening to push a girl off the curb. I blinked, and in that moment, Bella dashed over to where they were standing. She scolded the young boy and walked the girl to her friends. Bella shook her head and sighed as she walked to her original spot.

_Well, Edward,_ the strange voice in my head sighed. _This is your chance—go make a fool of yourself._

I was beside her in an instant, but she didn't notice. Her eyes never stopped moving. I cleared my throat, and her head snapped in my direction. A blush crept into her cheeks, but it didn't remind me of Tanya's hair this time.

"Hello," I said kindly, adopting my everything's-just-fine voice. "I felt that Lilly deserved another day of ice cream—any idea where she is?"

Bella was wringing her hands as her eyes drifted past me. "Oh," she said, a frown pulling at the edges of her lips. "They left." Her tiny hands pointed at a shiny yellow 911 Porsche—Alice's pride and joy besides Lilly. I enjoyed teasing my sister about her unorthodox mommy-mobile. She was strict on Lilly's diet, yet she drove her daughter around in a sports car (with her car seat, no less).

"Oh," I said lamely. I had two ice cream cones in my hands, which prevented me from smacking myself in the head like I really wanted to do. "Right."

"What kind of ice cream do you have?" she asked, pointing at the cones in my hands. I could tell that she was trying to make me feel less stupid. What a sweet girl.

I gave her what I thought was my best smile. It felt a bit crooked to me. "Well, I have one cone of vanilla bean, and the other is coffee. For some reason, Lilly has adopted these two new flavors. You wouldn't happen to know the reason for that, would you?"

Her eyes shifted, landing on a child and his parents. She gave them a small smile and waved, trying to seem dismissive of my question. I could tell she was embarrassed just by the color of her cheeks.

"I mentioned to her that vanilla bean and coffee were my favorites," she said impassively. "I didn't think she'd adopt them, as well."

"She's a little sponge," I said with a chuckle. "This ice cream is going to melt in this August heat."

She eyed the cones. "I guess you should eat them quickly."

I shrugged. "I had a ton of coffee this morning. I might die if I have any more."

"I would hate to see that go to waste," she said, biting her lip.

"Well," I said, nudging her arm and placing the cone in her hand. Her skin felt like silk against mine, and I knew that I would let my fingers linger on hers for longer than necessary if I didn't let go quickly.

"Thank you," she muttered, looking down at the dessert with wide eyes. She looked at me out of the corner of her eye before she took a lick. "Mm."

"You're new here, aren't you?" I asked, watching her lick her lips.

She blinked. "How did you know?"

I shrugged. "I didn't, really. It was a really lucky guess. I expected you to say that you've been here your whole life."

She laughed lightly. "I haven't even lived here for a year; I moved from Washington."

I raised an eyebrow. "You moved from Washington to Oklahoma?" I shook my head in a confused manner. "What could Oklahoma have that Washington didn't? Besides a number one ranked college football team, I mean."

"It had this job," she said, taking another lick. "A perfect opportunity for someone like me."

"Is that the only reason you decided to move from the coast to the Great Plains?"

She inhaled through her nose and exhaled through her mouth, her expression distant. "No, there was a bigger reason. I…" She broke off and swallowed. "I went through a pretty nasty breakup."

I suddenly felt terrible for prodding her on the issue. "I'm sorry," I said quickly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's a long story that would be best for another time," she said, finishing off her cone. I still had half a cone left.

"So," I said, perking up a bit. "You think there will be another ice cream date in our future?"

Bella's cheeks became as crimson as OU's school colors. "If you'd like there to be."

_Oh yes,_ I thought to myself as I crunched the cone in my mouth. _I would like that very much._

_ * * * _

As I stepped in the shower and let the water cascade over my muscles, I couldn't help but wonder why my mind was concentrating on one woman. It was entirely ridiculous that I couldn't stop thinking about her, especially considering she was an insignificant figure in my life.

Oh, who am I kidding? She's a highly significant figure in my life -- she's Lilly's teacher. I was bound to see more of her until May, when Lilly was finished with first grade. Open house was soon, and my niece insisted that I be present. It wasn't as if I could say no to the beautiful little girl that shared my genes.

I lathered the shampoo into my bronze hair, analyzing every word Bella had said when I brought her ice cream. She looked completely caught off guard when I showed up. I thought about how she admitted to me that she suffered a harsh break-up, and I suddenly wondered what the circumstances were. Surely, he didn't end it. Why would anyone willingly leave her? Maybe it was her choice. Maybe he cheated on her.

For whatever reason, my fists clenched in anger as I thought of her ex-lover betraying her trust. My rage was unfounded. For all I knew, the break-up was mutual and no one was hurt. That was probably the situation, and I was just a drama-crazed guy that wanted a reason to punch someone.

I felt soothed and relaxed as I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist. I had my clothes laid out on my bed for poker night at Jasper and Alice's. I hadn't done laundry in a few weeks, so I was resorting to my high school marching band shirt. No one but my family knew I was in marching band, which is why I only wore the shirt in front of them. I was ashamed Jasper knew until he admitted he was in a Civil War club and missed both his junior and senior prom due to a re-enactment bazaar.

Dressed in the stupidest clothes I owned, I tucked my lucky deck of cards in my back pocket and grabbed the box of poker chips. Jasper and I didn't play for money. If he lost, he bought the next round of golf we'd eventually play. If I lost, I got called on to babysit anywhere, anytime. It wasn't an even trade since I would babysit my cute niece no matter what.

It didn't take long to reach my sister's house. Jasper and Alice lived in the typical neighborhood that had one- or two-story houses full of bustling families. Around Christmas, families competed against each other for best Christmas lights. Alice always won.

There was a stoic red Chevrolet parked on the street, and I pitied the poor soul driving the heap of metal in today's economy. I figured it was a friend of one of the neighbor's, so I paid the old truck no attention as I pulled in the driveway and parked my Volvo.

The door was open, like always. I let myself in quietly and closed the fancy door behind me. I heard voices in the foyer, and I wondered if Jasper had lost track of time and didn't know it was poker night.

"Jazz," I called, placing the chips on the dining room table. "The marching band geek challenges the Civil War geek to a duel…" My voice effectively trailed off when Jasper emerged from the foyer, along with Alice, and a third person.

Bella.

I was never one to show signs of extreme emotion, but I felt my ears redden and the blood rush into my cheeks as I realized she'd heard my words. Bella Swan knew I was in marching band. Life was over.

What was she even doing here? Surely Alice wouldn't let Lilly invite her; it wasn't necessarily appropriate for a first grader to invite her teacher to her house. Lilly wouldn't get into the amount of trouble required to merit a home visit. I was thoroughly confused.

Her eyes—a warm chocolate brown—landed on my shirt. If I wasn't mortified before, I certainly was now.

I seriously considered making a run for it. My cards were still in my pocket and I could grab the poker chips on my way out. Alice and Jasper would be curious, but I could explain that something went wrong. Bella would have one more reason to think I'm crazy.

But, as the seconds ticked away while I stood there, I realized I couldn't go anywhere. The moment had passed, and now I had to explain to Bella that I was in marching band back in high school.

How fantastic.

It didn't help that she looked fantastic. Her jean shorts showed off her flawless pale legs, and the University of Washington t-shirt hugged her curves perfectly. She was obviously dressing for comfort, and that was something I admired about her. Her hair was clinging slightly to her head from the sweat that had accrued throughout the day, but it didn't detract from her beauty.

Great, now I'm staring.

"Hey, Edward," Jasper said, slapping a hand on my shoulder. His voice cut through the air and brought me out of my shock. "I forgot you were coming over tonight."

"Yeah," I managed to say. I tore my eyes away from Bella and tried to pull together all my confidence. "It's Friday, finally."

Alice stepped forward and gave me a one-armed hug. She felt so small compared to everyone else in the room. "Edward, you've met Bella."

I gave Bella a slight nod, trying to hide my mortification. "How are you?" I asked politely.

Her lips were tight when she smiled. "I'm fine," she said quietly.

I felt my embarrassment boiling up through my skin, so I brushed past her and went into the dining room where Jasper and I played poker.

"Well," I heard Alice say dismissively. "It was so nice to have dinner with you, Bella. Lilly just raves about you."

"She's a sweet girl," Bella agreed. I felt myself straining my ears to hear her sweet, melodic voice.

The front door opened and the voices faded. As my sister closed the door and she and Jasper headed down the hall toward the back of the house, I suddenly felt horrible for not being gentleman enough to speak to her. My eyes caught a small black purse hanging on one of the dining room chairs. Perfect.

Alice and Jasper were standing in the kitchen as I ran out the door after Bella. She was climbing into her truck when I caught her.

"You forgot this," I said, trying to calm my erratic breathing.

In the pale moonlight, I could tell her cheeks were slightly flushed. I wondered if it had anything to do with the extreme heat, even late at night. Her brown eyes were wide and full of life. I blinked to keep myself from staring.

"Bella!" Alice called from the house. I groaned inwardly. I was having a moment with Bella, despite its briefness, and Alice ruined it. "You forgot your groceries!"

Bella smacked her head with her hand, looking embarrassed. "I'm such an airhead today," she mumbled. She sat up and grabbed her purse from me. "Thanks, Edward."

Alice had approached the car and was brushing past me to give Bella the paper bag. "Thank you, Alice. Sorry about that."

"Oh, no problem. We all have days where we forget things." Alice turned to me with dark, mischevious green eyes. "Jasper's waiting for you."

"Right." I gave Bella a smile, hoping she would ignore my mortification. "Nice to see you again, Bella."

"You, too," she said, returning my smile. "You still owe me an ice cream date," she added.

My jaw dropped, but I quickly recovered. I tried to laugh as I walked away, but my mind was reeling. I couldn't help but wonder how she felt about me. Did she like me? Did she enjoy seeing me as much as I enjoyed seeing her?

Was it totally and completely wrong to date your niece's first grade teacher?

Maybe.

But then again, maybe not.

* * *

_I seriously need to take a moment and thank some people. First of all, jlaine and I want to thank all of you for giving us such fantastic reviews. One reviwer in particular, gordonfan74, always has something positive to say and it really motivates us to write more._

_Jlaine is my partner in crime, and I'm glad she understands the need to squeal whenever we see our story updated. She's the coolest._

_AdmittedlyObsessed is a kickass beta. You're lucky to have her as a beta if you ever decide to publish._

_Read. Rate. Review. Maybe we'll think about a teaser on the forum? Oh yes, there's a thread!_


	6. Call Me

_Call me, don't be afraid, you can call me_

__

Maybe its late but just call me--

_Tell Me And I'll Be Around_

**BELLA SWAN**

The rest of my first week was relatively uneventful compared to the first few days. There was more crying, more free dancing, and more recess conversations with Lilly, but all of those just became another part of my routine. I found myself becoming more and more fond of Lilly with each day, her positive attitude and contagious smile always seemed to move the day along for me. It also didn't hurt that I was quickly becoming friends with her mother, Alice. I was so relieved to meet someone my age in this unfamiliar town that I forgot to wonder if becoming close friends with a parent of one of my students was appropriate or not.

Anyhow, I made it to Friday afternoon unscathed and ready for the weekend. What that weekend would entail, I wasn't really sure. More unpacking was definitely in order, as well as stocking my refrigerator and pantry with food, which is why I now found myself wandering the aisles of the grocery store closest to my house.

Walking through the fresh fruits section, I allowed my mind to wander back to the afternoon I spent with Lilly's uncle._Edward_. After calling him 'Uncle Eddie' so many times in my mind, it was hard to focus on using his real name. Unfortunately, he was in my thoughts so much that calling him Edward now seemed to have become a habit.

He seemed so embarrassed when he saw Alice and Lilly driving off on Tuesday, I almost giggled out loud thinking about it. I surprised myself, wondering why I had been slightly let down when he mentioned he was at the school to pick up Lilly again. For some reason I had found myself hoping that he would have been there to see me.

I was actually convinced that he was there solely for his niece until I noticed the ice cream he had in his hands. Chocolate chip cookie dough was not one of the flavors. In fact, my two favorites occupied the cones he held. And then another thing that surprised me: my heart started pounding in my chest.

And then he had smiled crookedly at me and I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest. Should that be legal? Smiling like that?

I stopped swooning over Lilly's uncle for a few moments as I stopped in front of the frozen foods. I collected a few Lean Cuisine meals in my buggy. I loved to cook, but there was something about preparing a meal for just myself that was depressing and I wanted to get used to living on my own before I started cooking single portion meals.

In truth, I think I was just afraid I would fall back into the habits that I'd had when I used to live with Jacob... With my luck I would end up cooking all of his favorites and make just enough for two people. I couldn't bear to have that single serving left over in my fridge. Not yet.

I was in the middle of debating over the single packets of frozen peas and corn that you could steam in the microwave and the canned variety when a familiar voice pulled me from my inner battle.

"MS. SWAN!" I heard Lilly Whitlock squeal, her sandals pounding on the tile floor as she ran down the aisle, Alice following quickly behind with their own shopping cart. I threw the frozen vegetables in my cart and smiled as Lilly latched herself onto my leg.

"Hi, Lilly! Hey, Alice," I smiled, "How are you?"

"Doing really well, just getting ahead on some dinner shopping. Jasper requested steak and potatoes sometime next week, and this is the only time I have to shop! How was the rest of your week?"

I sighed, showing my exhaustion. "Long! But it was a lot of fun too. I'm just doing some shopping for next week as well."

Alice glanced into my shopping cart and I blushed as she took in my Lean Cuisine frozen meals and frozen vegetables. I must have looked pathetic.

"Bella, what are you doing tonight?"

"Oh...I don't know," I was surprised by her question, "Probably just heating one of these up and watching a movie." I motioned to my cart, still blushing at how alone I sounded. How alone I was.

"Come eat dinner with us. Please? I would love for you to meet my husband. He's heard so much about you from Lilly."

"Alice, thank you so much for the offer, but I would hate to intrude on your family—"

"Nonsense! We would love to have you! Just say you'll come!"

I glanced town at my worn t-shirt and jean shorts. I was disgusting after chasing children around all day, and my casual bum clothes just couldn't compare to Alice's designer skirt and blouse. I looked back up at Alice and she could see the uncertainty in my eyes.

"I'm changing into more comfortable clothes the second I get home," she assured me, "You can just follow us from here. We're done shopping anyway."

I followed Lilly and Alice to the check out counter and tried to sort through my mixed emotions. I was ecstatic to have plans for the evening, nervous to sit down to dinner with this family I was just beginning to get to know, and embarrassed by the fact that my obvious single status merited me an invitation to the home of one of my students for dinner.

When I pulled into Lilly's neighborhood, I was struck by the adorable two story houses. It looked like it could be a gingerbread village, cookie cutter and perfect. I hoped I could have a home like theirs some day. Minus my big clunky truck, which stood out like a sore thumb in this classy neighborhood.

Jasper was opening the front door as Alice pulled into the driveway and I parked on the curb. Alice called an introduction between the two of us as they began to pull groceries out of the back of the Porsche. It was amazing to me how many bags she could fit in that tiny car.

"Alice, can I throw my groceries in your fridge? I don't want these to melt while I'm here."

"Sure!" She was already inside the front door when she answered and I followed her in quickly. Jasper took my large bag from me and placed it in the freezer before shaking my hand and officially introducing himself. He was very good looking, just like Alice and Edward, and I began to wonder if there was something special in the food they were all eating. Maybe I would get a dose tonight at dinner.

"It's nice to meet you," I smiled, returning his handshake.

We all made small conversation as Alice began preparing dinner. I tried to help but she shooed me into the living room to sit with Jasper, handing us both a glass of white wine. Lilly entertained us with a song she had learned in music class and we both clapped loudly as she swirled around and took a bow at the end.

"That was great, Lilly. You'll have to sing that for Uncle Eddie sometime," Jasper smiled.

My heart skipped a beat at the mention of Edward and I hoped that Jasper would think the flush in my cheeks was caused by the wine I was drinking, not the mention of his brother-in-law.

Lilly did a few more songs and dances for us before Alice called us in for dinner and I found myself really having a good time, thankful that I had run into Alice at the store. As we ate, Alice and Jasper asked me questions about my move, which I answered expertly without spilling a word about Jacob, and how I enjoyed Oklahoma so far.

"It's been great," I answered honestly, "I love the school, and I have really enjoyed everyone I have met."

"Where did you go to school?" Jasper asked as we were all scraping our plates clean.

"I went to school in California. A nice change from my rainy hometown," I laughed, "I loved every minute of it."

The rest of dinner was filled with conversation about California and my preference for the warm sun. We all enjoyed desert quietly before cleaning up. Alice allowed me to help her with the dishes before I left. I was relieved that she was finally allowing me to show my thanks for her invitation to dinner, but that feeling quickly took a back seat to a slight feeling of panic as she asked a question.

"So, was Lilly correct that she saw Edward bring you ice cream the other day?"

I coughed. "What?"

"Tuesday, we were pulling out of the parking lot and Lilly swore she saw Edward's car in the parking lot."

"Oh," I blushed, "Yes. He was going to surprise Lilly with ice cream again, but I guess he forgot to tell you he was stopping by." I used the excuse that Edward gave to me, hoping Alice would find it believable.

"Well, that's just silly," she laughed lightly. I could tell she didn't buy it. "He knows I only give Lilly ice cream once a week. We only had it for dessert tonight because we had a guest over for dinner!"

I laughed nervously, "Oh...really?"

Lucky for me, we finished the dishes before the conversation could progress much further and I made my way to the foyer. Jasper came downstairs from putting Lilly to bed and met us at the bottom of the steps.

"Alice, thank you so much for dinner."

"It's no problem, Bella. You're welcome here any time."

I heard the front door open behind me and was just wondering who could be coming over when a familiar voice hit my ears. "Jazz! The marching band geek challenges the Civil War geek to a duel..."

Edward.

As soon as he started talking, Jasper rushed toward the door. Alice and I followed and I heard Edward's voice trail off as he noticed Jasper was not alone. His eyes were wide and he was frozen in place. He blushed slightly and shuffled his feet. It was then that I noticed his shirt. It looked rather old and worn and advertised a high school marching band. I glanced up from his shirt to notice him staring at me.

It was my turn to blush and shuffle my feet as the awkward silence nearly consumed us. I almost started singing my own rendition of the 'Hallelujah Chorus' when Jasper stepped forward and talked to Edward.

"Hey, Edward, I forgot you were coming over tonight."

He was still looking at me and I glanced down at my t-shirt and shorts, once again feeling self conscious about my choice in outfit. He had only seen me in my dressy school clothes, was he disappointed that I wasn't always so fancy?

I could almost feel the second his eyes left me as he answered Jasper, "Yeah. It's finally Friday."

Alice also moved to end the tension in the room, "Edward, you've met Bella."

He nodded slightly, almost as if he didn't want to acknowledge my presence again. "How are you?"

My heart, which had been pounding ever since I'd realized he was the mystery guest in the house, began to slow down and cry out in disappointment at his reaction toward me. Where was flirty ice cream Edward from Tuesday? "I'm fine," I answered.

He pushed past me quickly, following Jasper into the other room to follow up on his challenge to a duel, I guessed. I tried to hide my disappointment as Alice placed a hand on my shoulder, "Well, it was so nice to have dinner with you, Bella. Lilly just raves about you."

We walked towards the front door as I responded, "She's a sweet girl." I was so ready to leave.

Alice shut the door behind me and I began to sprint to my truck, so ready to leave. Why did Edward brush me off like that? He had been so much fun, so calm, on Tuesday. And now it seemed as though he didn't want to see me at all. Did I totally misread the ice cream date?

I reached into my pockets for my keys, ready to peel out of this cozy neighborhood, and was just hopping in the front seat when I heard Edward call out to me as he was running across the front lawn.

"You forgot this," he was breathless as he reached my truck, brandishing my purse in his hand.

I wanted to slap my forehead, what if he thought I left it on purpose? He already didn't want me around tonight. I blushed, hoping he wouldn't notice, and reached for my purse.

"Bella! You forgot your groceries!"

I looked over Edward's shoulder to see Alice carrying my frozen goods, the large bag weighing her down. This time, I did slap my forehead. "I'm such an airhead today. Thanks, Edward. Thank you, Alice. Sorry about that." I reached for my purse first and then grabbed the groceries from Alice, placing them in the seat beside me. Could this night of mortification please end already?

"Oh, no problem. We all have days when we forget things. Jasper is waiting for you," she turned to Edward with the last statement.

Did Edward look disappointed? "Right." He turned to smile at me, "Nice to see you again, Bella."

What was this? Did he just change personalities in the 2.5 seconds it took him to chase me to my truck? Or, was he making up for being so stand-offish earlier? I went with the second option and before I could stop myself, called out to him, "You still owe me an ice cream date."

His shocked face was so adorable I almost chuckled at him but I held it in. He turned quickly and walked inside. I could see his shoulders shaking with laughter and I smiled at Alice before I started by truck and pulled away.

Did I really just do that?

* * * * *

After a quick call home, another brief conversation with my father about Jacob that ended with me pretending to be sleepy and hanging up, and a bubble bath, I was ready to start my first official weekend of the school year. Alone.

I spent the rest of the evening reflecting on my brief encounter with Edward. Our encounters were becoming increasingly unpredictable, what with him inviting me to ice cream the first time we met, bringing me ice cream the next day, and then all but disappearing until he showed up after dinner tonight. And even though he had warmed up by the time I left, I still couldn't shake how he had originally acted when he saw me.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I barely heard my phone ringing. The familiar song was cycling through the second time when I finally snapped out of it and answered it, too distracted to check the caller ID.

"Bells…? I didn't think you would answer..."

The phone dropped from my hand and fell to the floor as I cursed loudly. I stared at it for a few seconds and Jacob's voice echoed off of the wooden floors. "Bella…? Bella, are you there? Is everything okay?"

I hung up the phone quickly and turned the power off before he could call again. My hands were shaking as I put my phone in my purse, planning to ignore it for the rest of the night. I had already talked to Charlie and I wouldn't be expecting a call from anyone else for the rest of the night.

All day Saturday and Sunday were spent planning my lessons for the next two weeks and preparing for the open house that would take place on Monday night. I wanted to come across organized and confident as the new teacher in the school, but somehow I knew that would not be the case.

I ran through my presentation hundreds of times, and by the time Monday morning came around, I was more than ready to leave my tiny suffocating house. I all but charged out of my front door and to my truck when it came time to leave.

Lilly was once again the first one to be dropped off. A frantic-looking Alice followed her into the classroom. "Bella? Is everything okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?" I asked nervously. There was no way she could have known about Jacob calling.

"I tried calling you a few times this weekend and your phone was always off. It was impossible to get in touch with you."

I gasped, reaching into my purse and discovering that my phone was still off from Friday night. "Oh, Alice. I'm so sorry...I turned my phone off Friday night after...someone from home called. I guess I completely forgot to turn it back on."

"It's okay, Bella. I just wanted to ask you a question about the open house tonight, but it looks like I won't be able to come."

"Oh, that's a shame. Lilly has a lot of stuff she's been working on, I'm sure she would have loved for you to see it."

"Oh, Lilly will still be coming," Alice said with a strange smile on her face. "Bye, Bella!"

Before I could ask who would be bringing Lilly, Alice was out of the building and rushing to her car.

As was always common when I was not looking forward to something, like tonight's open house, the day flew by faster than any Monday I had ever experienced. It seemed as soon as the day began, it ended, and I was shuffling around my classroom getting things ready for the parents. Each student had work displayed throughout the room and I was just standing back, taking in my creation, when my thoughts flashed to my cell phone, still discarded in my purse.

I grabbed all of the copies that needed to be made and hurried to the teacher work room as I turned my phone back on. I was greeted with 15 new voicemails and I sighed as I started the copy machine and dialed my voice mail. There was no air flow in the office and the heat from the copy machine caused me to flush immediately. Fanning myself with a stack of papers, I placed my phone to my ear.

The most recent message was from Alice, relaying the message she gave me earlier in the day. The next five were from Jake, asking why I had my phone turned off, pleading with me to talk to him. I rolled my eyes and prepared to simply delete the rest of my messages without even listening to them when a different, somewhat nervous, voice played in my ear.

"Bella? It's Edward. I, uh...Got your number from Alice. Hopefully you're having a good weekend... Anyway. I, um...Just wanted to call and let you know that I will be bringing Lilly to the open house on Monday, and we're going to dinner after. I would love it if you could join us...It's no ice cream date, but I can pick up a cone on the way if it will convince you to come."

He laughed quietly before continuing. "Anyway, I will see you on Monday, and hopefully you'll be joining us. Enjoy the rest of your weekend."

I was so shocked to hear Edward's voice that the next eight messages from Jake barely registered in my mind. I also failed to notice that the copy machine was jammed and beeping at me loudly. I swore under my breath and glanced at my watch, realizing I would be late to my meeting with the parents. They were probably gathering in my classroom right now.

I jogged down the hallway and entered my classroom slightly breathless. "I apologize for the wait...The copy machine decided not to work, and the air conditioner wasn't working in the office." I started passing out papers to all of the parents, trying to ignore the obvious head of bronze hair to my left. Contact was unavoidable when I reached his table, however, and I could feel myself blush as he grinned up at me and reached to grab the packet of information from my hand.

"Right. Let's get started."

Chapter End Notes:

Hope you enjoyed! Come play with us over on the AU-Human thread in the forum! We've got some great discussions going on, and plenty of teasers for each chapter!


	7. You're Right

_You're right, you're right, I know you're right._

**Edward Masen**

My sister knew me too well.

Alice was so damn omniscient, it almost scared me. After Bella left that fateful night - the night she discovered my horrible secret of being in marching band back in my nerdy high school years - Alice gave me an all-knowing smile.

"What?" I had asked her.

"You love her," she said, smiling like a girl watching her celebrity crush on television.

Jasper and I were playing poker when she sat down on his lap and looked at me with transparent eyes . "Okay, maybe it's not love," she conceded.

"It's not," I said, looking down at my two aces and a king. I tossed in a poker chip.

Jasper, who usually never commented on anything Alice berated me for, cleared his throat quietly. "I think she's nice, and I respect what Edward is doing."

Alice scoffed at her husband. "And what is Edward doing?"

He shrugged, throwing down his hand. Damn. A full house. "Something impossible."

"Hm." Alice pursed her lips. "Well, you're taking Lilly to Open House on Monday, so I think you should invite her to dinner afterwards. Call her right now, as a matter of fact."

"One," I said, pushing the poker chips to Jasper unwillingly, "it's supposed to be _your_ job to take your kid to Open House. Two, I don't have her phone number."

"I see Lilly's work every day when I drop her off at school - she makes sure of it." She leaned across the table and took my phone from its resting place on the edge. "Here's her number."

So, after hours of Alice's insistence and Jasper's silent encouragement, I found myself leaving a very awkward voicemail message for Bella on her cell phone. I was more sad than relieved when her phone went straight to her voicemail box. She left a simple greeting: "It's Bella, you know what to do." Unfortunately, I _didn't_ know what to do. I stuttered my way through everything.

When I mentioned Bella's phone being off, Alice panicked. I couldn't see why. I turned my phone off occasionally. I heard it was good for the battery. I heard about Bella all weekend from my sister. "Did you call Bella? Did she call you? Her phone still isn't on..." Once, I had to cover her mouth and turn her over to Jasper so that I could leave in peace.

But now that I was sitting in a cramped classroom with twenty other children and their parents, I realized that I really wanted to hear about Bella. I hadn't seen her since Friday night. How was her weekend? What does she do on weekends?

The room became silent when Bella walked in, looking flustered.

"I apologize for the wait," she said quickly, fanning herself with a manila folder. "The copy machine decided to quit on me, and the air conditioner wasn't working in the office." She began passing out sheets of paper to all the parents. When she stepped in front of me, I saw her cheeks redden. I smiled.

"Right. Well, let's get started," she said, taking her place at the front of the class. She explained her curriculum and her expectations of the students by the end of the year. Parents looked impressed, and students smiled proudly at their work.

After we'd made the perfuctory tour of the art and music rooms, Lilly and I made our way through the throngs of parents and students to find Bella. I was taking Lilly to get pizza after Open House, and it was a very exciting thing for her - Jasper and Alice made Lilly eat healthy food, so pizza was a real treat. It was Lilly's idea to invite Bella along, and it was my job to make sure she didn't refuse.

Bella was in her empty classroom, still fanning herself with a folder. It felt like a decent temperature in her room, so I wondered if she was warm from embarrassment or shyness.

"Ms. Swan!" Lilly said, running over to her. Bella jumped as the little raven haired girl skidded to a stop in front of her. "You did great!"

She smiled kindly. "Thanks, Lilly!"

I stepped forward, offering a warm smile. "Not bad for your first time. I couldn't even tell you were nervous."

She snorted. "I exude confidence, I know."

Both Lilly and I laughed, although I was fairly sure Lilly didn't know the definition of 'exude.'

"Did you get my message?" I asked, putting my hand on Lilly's shoulder to keep her from bouncing around like a rubber ball.

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Oh. Yes, I did."

"Well?" I pressed.

Bella took a deep breath. "Normally, I would decline, but pizza sounds amazing."

I held my other hand out, and she grabbed it to prop herself up. Her skin was insanely soft, and my mind was suddenly overwhelmed with the image of touching all of her skin to see if it was just as smooth.

What was wrong with me?

Lilly ran ahead, leaving Bella and me to trail behind her. The September air was warm and void of humidity, which was comforting. Lilly climbed into the back of the Volvo and began bouncing - again.

"She never stops," Bella mumbled as she crawled in the passenger seat. She looked good in my car - it was something I could get used to seeing. Preferably on a daily basis.

I informed Bella that we were going to a pizza place called Hideaway, simply because their pizza was the best. Expensive, but absolutely amazing. She looked eager to taste a bit of Oklahoma culture. From the looks of it, she wasn't adjusting to Oklahoma well. I could see why it would be difficult. Our weather changed within minutes.

As I pulled into the parking lot of Hideaway Pizza, I noticed cloud formations gathering to the west. It was better not to point my observations out to Lilly, because she was scared to death of anything involved with thunderstorms after Emmett stupidly let her watch _Twister_.

"Table for three with a booster seat," I said to the hostess. Lilly pulled on my arm.

"I don't want a booster seat!" she insisted, sticking her bottom lip out in a classic expression she picked up from her mother.

Bella giggled, and my eyes snapped up to meet hers. What a melodic tone. "Alright, no booster seat." I looked down at my niece. "No bouncing."

On the way to our table, Lilly grabbed the board game Candy Land and brought it with us. She loved Hideaway because it was kid friendly and they carried a wide variety of table games.

"Ms. Swan, you can play with me!" she said excitedly. "Daddy and Uncle Eddie won't play a girl's game with me."

I chuckled as I sat across from the two ladies. I was disheartened that I couldn't sit next to Bella. "I never said I wouldn't play; I just want to be Lord Licorice."

"Who do you want to be, Ms. Swan?"

Bella's cheeks reddened. "Um, I'll be Queen Frostine."

"Yay! I can be Princess Lolly!"

Bella looked up at me and smiled, her face turning a deep shade of scarlet. She lowered her face, the smile still prevalent. She looked at the menu with profound interest.

"Pepperoni pizza?" I asked Lilly, who nodded happily.

"Do I get my own?" she asked, looking excited.

I shrugged. "Does Ms. Swan want pizza, too?"

Bella looked indifferent. "I'll eat whatever."

I shook my head. "Now, Bella, your opinion matters to us." Lilly nodded at my words. "Please, tell us what you'd like."

The waitress appeared at that time, ready to take our drink orders. Bella and I ordered Coke, and Lilly ordered Sprite. It was my goal to load her up with as much sugar as I could before I gave her back to her parents. It was working so far.

"Pepperoni is fine," she said, looking shy. I wondered why she felt so timid around me and if there was something I could do to change it.

"Tell me about yourself, Bella," I said, making my first move as Lord Licorice on Candy Land.

She drew a card and moved Queen Frostine. "I was born and raised in Forks, Washington. After high school, I moved to California and got my degree from USC..."

"USC?" I said, choking on my Coke. As a born and bred Sooner, the fact that she was a former Trojan sent a red flag up in my mind. "USC, who killed us in the Orange Bowl? The school that Reggie Bush is from?"

She looked stunned by my outburst. "Um, well, I didn't really pay attention to that game. I just know that you lost by thirty-six points."

It was my turn to look stunned. "Don't bring that up."

"Bring what up?" She was taunting me now. "The fact that OU practically didn't show up to that game? Where were you, Edward?" she said, poking me from across the table. "You obviously didn't come to the game like USC did."

"Stop fighting," Lilly complained, now going through all of the cards and finding the best ones for herself. Bella and I didn't notice her cheating.

"Alright," I agreed, trying to get off my college football soapbox. Unless my mind was playing tricks on me, I thought I saw Bella wink at me. I knew for a fact I saw her mouth USC. "So why were you wearing a t-shirt from the University of Washington when I saw you at my sister's house?"

"Why were you wearing a marching band shirt?"

My stomach turned. "Touché."

We ordered our pizza and played Candy Land, Lilly beating us easily. Both Bella and I pretended to be oblivious to her cheating. I learned about Bella's life at USC, mostly because I was upset at her for going to such a rivalry school. She casually interjected comments about their football team, causing me to glow green with envy. She was coming out of her shell with me, finally.

By the end of dinner, Lilly was resting her head on the table and yawning quite frequently. Bella stroked her hair tenderly, talking to me in hushed tones. I watched her long, delicate fingers and wondered what they would feel like in my hair. It was a thought that left as fast as it came, but I still shivered at the mental image.

I paid the check, despite the glares I received from Bella. She quietly gathered Candy Land back into its box while I hoisted the sleepy child into my arms, tucking her head onto my shoulder. Lilly didn't stir as we walked to my car. Bella opened the back seat door, and I buckled my niece into her car seat just to be safe.

"I'll take you to your truck first," I whispered, turning the key and listening to the engine purr. I never lost respect for my beloved Volvo.

"That's fine," she said, her voice low and silky.

As I pulled onto the main road, I suddenly remembered a textbook that I was going to let Jasper borrow for his doctoral studies. I had promised Jasper I'd bring it by, but usually I forgot to grab it on my way out. I looked over and calculated the extra time it would take to swing by my house and pick it up.

"We're making a small stop," I said, turning down a street that led to my house. "I need to grab something for Jasper."

"Oh," Bella said, raising her eyebrows. "That's fine. Your place?"

I nodded. "It'll just take a second, and you can wait in the car with Lilly."

Bella said nothing as she rested her head on the headrest and closed her eyes. She looked tired from being up early and having to deal with the stress of Open House. Lucky for me, my first class began at ten o'clock and colleges didn't have Open House.

"You did very well tonight," I complimented quietly. She opened her eyes and blinked at me.

"Could you tell I was nervous?" she asked, biting her lip in a maddeningly adorable way.

I chuckled. "You seemed fine to me."

My headlights swept the front of my house as I pulled in the driveway. "I'll only be a second," I promised, leaving the car on and hitting the garage door opener.

"Take your time," she said, yawning.

I sprinted up my driveway and into the house, flipping on the lights as I ran. If Lilly wasn't zonked out in my car, I would have invited Bella inside for a glass of merlot. We could have sat in my living room and talked about the real reason behind her move to the Bible belt. I knew there was a man behind the move, and that fact alone made me insanely curious.

I heard a small rumble from nature as I grabbed the textbook and tucked it under my arm. I ran through the weather forecast in my head, trying to remember what the meteorologist said about the possibility of storms. Forty to fifty percent chance of rain meant that it would pour buckets tonight. I quickened my pace.

The wind was picking up as I got into my car. "Be careful going home," I told Bella. "It'll start raining here pretty soon."

She shrugged. "I used to live in Washington - rain is nothing to me."

Wind caused my Volvo to rock just a bit. "How close do you live to the school?"

"About two minutes." She looked at Lilly with concerned eyes. "She seems tired."

"All that energy...it was bound to run out eventually." I paused briefly. "Hey, if the weather gets too bad to drive in, let me know and I'll pick you up from wherever you are."

"That's sweet," she whispered, a small smile on her face as I pulled into the school parking lot next to her truck. "I should be fine."

"You have my phone number, right?" I asked.

"Um." She bit her lip in the most adorable way. Was she trying to drive me crazy? "It's not saved. My phone never showed the missed call."

I shrugged. "I'll give it to you now. I want you to call me when you make it home."

She smiled. "I'll be okay, don't worry."

I wanted to reach out and touch her cheek with my fingers and ask her to let me be worried, but I knew it wasn't appropriate. Instead, I tried to look nonchalant. "You're new to this state and our spastic weather. Maybe I won't worry after you've been here for a year."

She looked down, and I swore I saw her cheeks turn red. I grabbed her phone and programmed my number in for her.

"Call or text when you make it," I reminded her as she gathered her things and opened the car door. The door was caught by the wind and swung wide open.

"I will." She looked at Lilly one more time, and then smiled at me. "Thanks, Edward."

"You're welcome, Bella," I responded. As I watched her walk away, I wondered why I was suddenly so infatuated with the first grade teacher. She wasn't a supermodel in terms of her looks; yet, I found her to be far more intoxicating just the way she was. Lilly was lucky to see her every day.

I shook my head of these thoughts. What was wrong with me? Was I some kind of hormone-crazed teenager that could think of nothing but the hot teacher? I shuddered. Thank God she wasn't _my_ teacher, because then this situation would be much more strange and, in some cases, very illegal.

* * *

I had just unlocked my front door for the second time that night when my phone vibrated in my pocket.

_I made it._

It was from an unfamiliar number, yet I knew exactly who it was.

Rain started to fall as I rushed inside my house. Lightning flashed across the sky. I looked down at the phone in my hand and chuckled.

_Good luck with the rain._

A crash of thunder caused all of my possessions to shift on their foundation. My phone vibrated.

_It's a bit louder here than in Washington._

I could practically see her sheepish expression.

We texted each other for the better part of an hour. Nothing important was mentioned, just little tidbits about the rainy weather of Washington. I had fun picturing what she looked like as the big strikes of lightning and thunder struck.

I was nodding off when I received one last text message.

_Next time, you better be here to calm me down._

Too tired to text back, I let the phone drop onto my mattress as I slipped away into unconsciousness, my mind wandering to what it would be like to hold her in my arms...

Chapter End Notes:

Forums! We need discussion! We might just let something slip.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey all! I'm glad you're enjoying everything so far! Coldasicex3 and I wanted to take a second and thank you guys for being so AMAZING! We may not respond to all of your reviews, but we read them all and are always SO excited to see what you have to say! So keep it up!**

**Thanks to Admittedly Obsessed for Validating for us!**

**This is a quasi-filler...meaning some pretty good stuff happens, but we're still passing over a big chunk of time. And, as a special treat we've got BPOV AND EPOV for you this time :)**

**Enjoy!**

****

**Chapter 8**

**BPOV**

I thought it would take a while for Oklahoma to begin to feel like home to me, but now, two months after I packed up everything and restarted my life, I was finally starting to think of my tiny little house as my home. My home. I had never had the opportunity to be out completely on my own before. I always had a roommate in college, and as soon as I came home, I went from living with Charlie to living with Jake within months.

I was shocked when I realized that I had never truly been on my own.

Of course, when I came to this realization, everything I did around my house excited me in some way. I was washing my laundry and cleaning my dishes. It was my bed that I was making up, and my shower that I was scrubbing. When did cleaning become something I enjoyed?

August and September held many adventures for me in my new life. If I sat down to really think about it, I would realize that one of the reasons Oklahoma became home to me so quickly was my friendship with Alice and Jasper and, of course, Lilly. Alice had taken me under her wing in a way; dinner invitations were always on my answering machine, she loved introducing me to her friends in town, and she always found something for me to do on the weekends, whether it involved dragging me out shopping for the day or going to see some production in town. She had even introduced me to her and Edward's other brother Emmett and his wife Rosalie when they decided to join us all for dinner one night.

And I could never forget Edward. He was also a big part of making this strange new town feel like home. Our developing friendship had pulled me through many difficult times without him even realizing it. Jacob had been calling even more frequently, and I wasn't not even sure why because Charlie had mentioned that he started seeing a new girl in town. He didn't need my permission to move on. I figured that was understood when I left -- he had no say in my life anymore, and in the same respect, I didn't have a say over his either.

One thing that clued me in to the importance of Edward in my life was that I didn't have a complete breakdown when Charlie told me about Jacob's new girlfriend. Yes, my heart was still broken and it would take a while for me to get over everything, and it stung when I heard he was moving on so quickly, but my life revolved around other things now. It revolved around me...and my home.

I had been seeing a lot more of Edward lately, ever since he and Lilly took me out for pizza after the Open House at school. I was worried that I had put the brakes on any developing friendship that night after pizza when I managed to show Edward one of my worst habits...text messages. I wasn't sure what I was thinking when I mentioned him calming me down the next time a storm came through -- maybe I assumed text messages weren't as personal. I somehow always ended up saying too much in them anyway.

When he didn't respond, I was immediately embarrassed and congratulated myself on ruining the friendship before it even started. I was proven wrong the next afternoon when he sent a message my way.

_Just to let you know, there is another big storm coming through tonight. I know you're not used to the storms around here just yet..._

I was so relieved to hear from him that I responded immediately.

_Thanks for the warning :) I'll be sure not to venture out._

I only had to wait thirty seconds for his response.

_You don't need a strong man to come keep you safe? ;)_

A wide grin spread across my face as I typed my reply.

_I don't think Rosalie would appreciate giving Emmett up for the night._

His text back was immediate:

_Ouch!_

I had to laugh at his response and quickly sent another message, enjoying this unexpected afternoon conversation.

_It's not my fault the movie Twister scarred me for life. My poor dad had to cuddle with me every time a major storm came through town._

_I'm jealous..._ was his reply. Five seconds after I opened the message, another one was received.

_Not that I want to be your father or anything...Um. Yeah._

A part of me was glad that the tables had turned and that he was the one feeling awkward in this conversation, but I immediately felt bad and tried to make him more comfortable.

_I'll let you know if I can't make it through the night ;-)_

The rest of the afternoon was spent sending quick messages back and forth until the storm hit and I assured him, for the fifth time, that I would be okay and would call him if I needed anything. Any insecurities I had about our developing friendship were lost, and I was sure that if anything, the texts this afternoon had made it just a little bit stronger.

He began to pick Lilly up at least once a week, and we even had ice cream together a few more times. Of course, Edward claimed that since Lilly was there with us, it didn't count as our ice cream date.

Edward sometimes came as a package deal; Lilly was with him about 80% of the time I saw him, but that never bothered me. I was beginning to really love the small child. That was something I was still working on in the classroom -- as much as Lilly and I were friends outside of school when we were with "Uncle Eddie," it took a lot of time for her to get used to things being different while we were in school. One time I even heard her refer to me as "Ms. Swan" and "Uncle Eddie's Ms. Swan." When I asked her about it she said that's how she could tell which way she should act -- whether we were with Uncle Eddie or not. I wasn't sure what to think of that.

It was true that Edward was stopping by the school more often. Sometimes he would even swing through just to see me after Lilly had already left. I loved those afternoons the best. I always knew when he would be stopping by because he would send me a message in the morning saying things like "Have a great day! Your class will love the character sketch!" It always amazed me that he remembered the lessons and activities I had planned.

One of the most recent times Edward came to visit, I let it slip just how much my breakup with Jacob had hurt me and how much I was still hurting over it. It wasn't something I had planned, that's for sure. The afternoon started off just like any of the others when I knew he was visiting. I was working around the classroom, trying to busy myself as I waited for him to arrive.

I had just decided to start switching out my bulletin board when I grabbed the giant piece of paper the wrong way and ended up slicing my finger. "OW!" I cried out, sucking on my finger quickly and stepping down off of my stool. "Ow, ow, ow!"

"Bella? What's wrong?" Edward's urgent voice called out to me as I heard him jog the rest of the way down the hallway and into my classroom. He looked frantic but his expression calmed when he noticed I was in one piece.

I held my finger away and covered my eyes, trying to prevent my queasy stomach from betraying me. "I got a paper cut...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell."

I heard him chuckle as he walked towards me. "Do you have a first aid kit in your desk?"

"Top drawer," I answered, sitting down on the stool I had just been standing on.

He shuffled through the drawer for a moment before I heard him walking back across the classroom. He took my hand with the injured finger in both of his and examined it closely before putting some Neosporin on a band-aid and sticking it over my cut. I pulled my hand down from my eyes and grinned at him as I blushed, "Typical clumsy Bella."

"I'm sorry I overreacted," he grinned. "It is just in my nature to be overprotective. I do it with Lilly all the time."

I had to smile. I loved when he talked about Lilly.

"She was premature, did you know that?"

I shook my head.

"We were all so worried. We basically camped out at the hospital the entire time she and Alice were there." Edward's expression softened as he told me the next part of the story. "I remember one time I was sitting by Lilly's incubator. We had to wear these gowns and masks when we were around her, so I was covered from head to toe. I put my hand in as far as I could, just to be a little closer to her, and she wrapped her hand around my pinky. Her hand was so tiny, she barely made it all the way around. But...ever since then, my life has revolved around her. Well...whenever Alice can give her up for the afternoon."

Edward ended his story with a chuckle and looked up from my hand, which he had been holding the entire time he was talking about Lilly.

"Um, sorry," he coughed, "I was just...making sure the band-aid was secure enough."

I smiled at him. "I love that Lilly is so important to you..." I was surprised that my voice caught and I realized that I had tears in my eyes. All at once memories flashed through my mind of the times I thought about having a family with Jacob. I'd imagined our children with his features, since they would be most dominant...straight black hair, dark eyes, and dark skin. I always pictured at least three children: two boys and one girl. They would always be playing in our back yard, blowing bubbles with giant bubble sticks and laughing. The little girl would have my smile.

I was interrupted from my thoughts when Edward took notice of my glassy eyes.

"Are you okay?" Edward placed a hand on my cheek and my watery eyes met his concerned gaze.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just..." I sighed, "I had always planned that I would have a child around Lilly's age by this time in my life. I wanted to be married and have a baby... I had it all planned out. And then he had to mess everything up."

Before I could be embarrassed about my mini-breakdown, Edward had his arms around me and was running his fingers through my hair. Being in his arms was everything I had imagined -- and yes, as much as I hated to admit it, I imagined it. And his fingers running through my hair were oddly comforting. One of his hands was lazily tracing circles on my back and I felt myself relax into his chest. I closed my eyes and sighed.

"Just...hearing you talk about Lilly, and how much you care about her...It really reminds me of the desires I once had for my life."

"It's never too late, Bella," Edward soothed.

I laughed humorlessly and pulled away reluctantly. I instantly found myself wanting to reach out to him again. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I got so emotional about it. How was your day?"

Edward looked at me skeptically for a moment before running a hand through his hair and telling me the latest stunt pulled by Jessica Stanley. She was one of my favorites in his class because he always had funny stories to share with me about her flirting with him.

Since that day, Edward had been a lot more attentive when it came to me when Lilly was around. I figured he was afraid of another breakdown, but I wasn't complaining. As much as I loved the time between the three of us, I loved simply Edward-and-Bella time even more.

And I knew that Edward was dying to know about Jacob...I could see in his eyes when we talked in my classroom. He was curious. But, he was being a gentleman and I knew he wouldn't ask until I was ready to tell. For that, I was extremely thankful.

**EPOV**

I listened to my father talk in our faculty meeting with only half of my attention. It was hard to care about the zoology department when I was in the music department. All of my thoughts were drifting to a certain pale-skinned beauty that I had the lovely pleasure of knowing. I hadn't thought about a girl so often since I was with Tanya. I hardly ever thought about my first love anymore. I briefly wondered if she was happy in Minnesota. I was sure she was fine without me, just like I was fine without her.

A few weeks ago, Bella told me something that I couldn't get out of my head. It all started when she got a paper cut. I remember hearing her shriek from her classroom while I was walking down the hallway. I jumped into Overprotective Uncle Mode and immediately began treating her as if she had cut her finger open with a knife instead of a sheet of paper. I quickly apologized and explained to her how my niece was premature. Bella listened with intent ears, frowning at all the sad parts and smiling at the ending. Then, she completely broke down.

"I had always planned that I would have a child around Lilly's age by this time in my life. I wanted to be married and have a baby… I had it all planned out. And then _he_ had to mess everything up."

I didn't have a lot of time to recover from her admission. I did the first thing I could think of: I put my arms around her and tried to comfort her as best I could. But the truth was, my mind was reeling in this revelation. I _knew _there was a man behind her move to Oklahoma. I wanted to know the whole story, but I didn't want to force her to tell me more than she already had.

After that, we became even closer. I visited her on her lunch break quite often, usually bringing her a sandwich from a place I visited on campus. She told me about her lesson plans for the coming week, and I listened with interest. I was jealous of Lilly for having such an amazing teacher.

I reminisced on all of this while I was sitting in an uncomfortable wood chair, listening to Carlisle ramble on about the different departments. He'd long since mentioned the music department, but I was still required to stay. Feeling adventurous, I pulled my cell phone out and held it under the table.

_Faculty meeting. Kill me?_

It only took about a minute for Bella to reply.

_HA! All-school assembly. Kids everywhere._

I pressed my lips together to hide the chuckle.

_I win, _she texted, not waiting for my reply to her former message.

_Fair enough. How was your day?_

Carlisle looked at me briefly while speaking. I had no idea which department he was referring to by now.

_Fine. I stapled my finger to a paper, but that was nothing._

I sighed quietly to myself.

_Are you alright?_

_I'm fine. I put a band-aid on it._

_You worry me too much. I'd never forgive myself if you really got hurt._

When she didn't reply for a while, I worried that my comment was too inappropriate. Now I was feeling like an idiot.

Then, my phone lit up.

_Sorry – I had to give an award. Why wouldn't you forgive yourself?_

_I care about you, obviously._

_You shouldn't. You'll never know when I off myself by mistake._

We texted for the next thirty minutes, arguing about football and random little things that weren't serious or rude. I loved talking to Bella, especially through text messages. She was more open with me this way, although she was opening up to me in person, as well.

Without even noticing, my thoughts drifted to her miniature breakdown and what it was like to hold her in my arms. She was so tiny and fragile, and I was convinced her hair was made out of pure silk. It felt amazing running through my fingers.

_Almost over!_ she texted, breaking me out of my trance.

I smiled, closing my eyes and picturing her in the t-shirt and jean shorts she was wearing the night she was at Alice's house. The image stuck with me for weeks.

_I get out at 3:30. Drinks at 4? _I asked.

Carlisle was talking about how our tuition rates were set to go up another ten percent when my phone alerted me of a new message.

_I hope you know the good places to drink, because I don't._

I leaned back in my chair and smiled.

Chapter End Notes:

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	9. Why Not?

Hey all! It's Jliane with another BPOV for you! I hope you all enjoy! Your reviews for the last chapter were AMAAAAZING and we can't wait to hear from you again!

Thanks to Admittedly Obsessed for validating!

And to Coldasicex3 for helping with the bar convo. You're the best!

* * *

Chapter 9

Closing my phone, I had to smile at myself.

Drinks at 4:00 on a Thursday afternoon were not a regular occurrence for me, but I figured today I would make an exception. It was an opportunity to get to know Edward a little more, and I would never pass up that chance.

Just as the assembly finished, my phone vibrated and I opened it to find a new message from Edward suggesting that we meet up at a bar I had never heard of.

_You're going to have to give me directions, I have no idea where that is._

The next few minutes found us texting back and forth furiously; I was sending every landmark I passed to give him an idea of where I was, and he was giving me a play by play of my surroundings as I approached the bar.

I cursed myself for wearing the most teacher-esque outfit I could find this morning...I had to look ridiculous as I parked my car and made my way into the bar in the bright afternoon sun. I had to keep myself from skipping across the sidewalk, eager to get to the man waiting for me inside.

Once I stepped through the door, I had to blink a few times so my eyes could adjust to the dim lighting inside. As soon as I could see properly, I spotted Edward across the room at the other end of the bar.

I felt a wide smile spread across my face as I made my way toward him.

"Ah," Edward said, standing up with a beer in his hand and giving me a small wave. "You made it."

"Your directions helped," I admitted sheepishly. "I still don't know my way around this town completely."

I took a seat next to him and he asked me what I would like to drink. This put me in a situation; what was I supposed to order? I could go the classy route and order a glass of merlot. Then again, I could be interesting and order a mixed drink. My inner conscience got the best of me and I ordered the only drink I could tolerate.

"Malibu and Coke, please," I said quietly.

He placed my order, and within moments, my favorite drink was placed on the wooden bar. He held up his beer and said, "Cheers." Our glasses touched and we both took a generous sip.

"So," he said, running one hand through his hair. "Plans for Halloween?"

I licked my lips. "I'll probably go to Wal-Mart and pick up some cheap candy. I don't know if my neighborhood attracts trick-or-treaters. What about you?" I could feel myself loosening up already. "Are you taking Lilly?"

He took a deep breath, and for a moment, I was worried I had touched on a rough subject. "Alice doesn't believe in Halloween. More specifically, she doesn't believe in store-bought costumes."

"I'm confused," I said.

"When Lilly was two, Alice spent the entire month of October making her costume. She was Dorothy from _The Wizard of Oz_." Edward smiled affectionately. "They went trick-or-treating in their neighborhood, and every other child had a costume from Wal-Mart. Alice nearly had a coronary. She couldn't believe parents would stuff their children into polyester and spandex blends. Never again has Alice taken Lilly trick-or-treating. It's my job now. She only contributes to making our costumes."

I nearly snorted rum and Coke through my nose. "You dress up, too?"

"Oh, yes." He was laughing at my reaction. "Last year, I dressed up as Shrek so she could be Princess Fiona."

"Alice doesn't seem like the kind of mother that would allow her daughter to have so much candy," I mumbled, finishing off my first Malibu and Coke. "Maybe I'm wrong."

"You're right," he said, catching the bartender's attention and pointing to my drink. "Alice would die if she knew that Lilly keeps her secret stash at my house. Lilly shares with me, though. She puts aside the type of candy she thinks is my favorite."

The rum was starting to go to my head, but I couldn't find it in my mind to care. I was having so much fun hearing Edward's stories that it didn't register that I was giggling like an idiot. "What does she think is your favorite?"

Edward cringed. "Dots and black licorice. I know she hates them, so I convinced her they were my favorite. I have at least three pounds of it in my closet."

I laughed, and my drink really did shoot through my nose. I wanted to die. Not only had I just sprayed alcohol all over Edward, but I did it while wearing the hideous turtleneck sweater I chose for school today. What was wrong with me?

I felt myself blushing furiously and I quickly apologized, grabbing a few drink napkins and wiping the mixture of soda and rum from Edward's fleece. "Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry..."

He chuckled and took my hand in his, stopping my frenzied attempt at cleaning him off. "Bella, don't worry about it. It was adorable."

His comment made me blush even more and I ducked my head and tucked a few stray layers of hair behind my ear. "Still, I'm sorry."

"It's nothing," he said, pulling off his fleece and placing it over the back of his chair.

I glanced down at my now empty glass and cringed.

"Want another?"

I laughed and shook my head quickly. "No, I think I will just have water now. One and a half is enough for me. I still have to drive home."

Edward smiled and signaled the bartender one more time.

"So, how was the faculty meeting?" I joked, hoping to get the conversation rolling again.

"Oh. My. Gosh," he groaned. I had to smile because he looked a lot more approachable when he rolled his eyes and ran a hand down his face to express his boredom. His normally intense gaze was shattered and I got a glimpse of the playful man inside. I loved these moments when we were together.

I giggled at his expression. "That bad, huh?"

"Bella, I thought it would never end."

Sipping my water, I silently gathered the courage to let my thoughts spill out. "Well, cheer up, Uncle Eddie. You're with me now."

He blinked at me, hesitating only a moment before letting a beautiful grin break across his face.

"You're the only person besides Lilly that I will allow to call me that."

I grinned and took another sip of my drink as he finished his beer.

"And you're right, I'm glad to be here with you."

I ducked my head again and started to play with my drink napkin, unsure of how to answer his statement.

He chuckled and I could tell he was going to say something else, "Even if my fleece had to take some abuse in the process."

"Ugh," I groaned and leaned my head on my arms that were folded across the counter. "Sometimes I just can't stand you, Edward Masen."

I heard him laugh again as he lightly tapped my shoulder, "Come on, Bella. You know you love this rare bit of time we get to spend together."

"It's the highlight of my week," I responded sarcastically. Little did he know, he hit the nail on the head.

I heard him stand up next to me and he placed his hand on my shoulder again. "Are you ready? It's getting pretty late, and I promised Alice I would swing by and help her with something before she started dinner."

"Sure, just let me pay for my--"

"No, ma'am. You've been taken care of."

I frowned, "I spat my drink all over you. The least you can do is let me pay for it."

"What kind of man would I be if I asked a lady to drinks and made her pay? I don't think so."

"Is that how it works? You invite me so you get to pay?...So next time if I invite you, I get to pay?"

He only grinned as he pulled his fleece on and zipped it up half way over his polo shirt. I noticed it was still wet across the chest where I had spat on him.

I sighed, knowing how terrible I was at arguing. I figured I had already lost anyway.

Edward placed a hand across the back of my shoulders as we walked out of the bar and to the parking lot.

"Have a good night," I said as we reached my truck.

"You too, Bella. Drive safe, please. And let me know when you get home."

I smiled and started the truck, watching him in my rear view mirror as he stood waving by his car.

My day was off to a horrible start, and I wasn't quite ready to admit why.  
Maybe it had to do with the fact that my hot water heater decided to give out and I had to take a cold shower. Or that I burned myself while making toast this morning. Or even the fact that I almost ran out of gas on my way to school.

I wasn't going to lie to myself though. I knew the real reason why I was in a foul mood and I was not happy with myself about it.

There had been a storm the night before. A big one. And I was up half of the night, terrified of the winds howling outside of my small house.

I had texted Edward when I got home, letting him know I made it back safe and that I was just planning on putting things together for my lesson the next day. We talked briefly before we both got busy with schoolwork and before I knew it my eyes were drooping over my lesson book. I hadn't even thought to check the weather report on TV before I went to bed, so I was shocked when a loud clap of thunder woke me up in the middle of the night.

My cell phone was right by my bed, and I was tempted to text Edward just so I would have someone there to calm me down. He did say that I could call him any time... I couldn't make myself pick up my phone, however. I knew he needed his sleep just as much as I did, and even though we had been spending a lot more time together, I still wasn't sure we had reached that point in our friendship...relationship...whatever it was...

My thoughts of last night were interrupted as my students started piling in. I was worried by 8:00 when Lilly still hadn't arrived. Was everything okay? I wondered if she was sick. Today we were starting a new section in our handwriting book and we were doing a fun Halloween activity since the holiday was only one week away. I was sad Lilly would miss out on the fun.

I was just starting my planning period, setting up a few bowls with candy and writing some descriptive words on the board, when I heard a soft knock on my classroom door.

Turning around, my heart almost leapt out of my chest. There was Edward with a pitiful looking Lilly in his arms. One of her arms was around his neck and she was leaning her head on his shoulder. Her other arm was curled towards her, supporting a rather large cup full of what I assumed was a milkshake.

Lilly managed a weak wave as Edward walked into the classroom and shut the door behind him.

"Hey," Edward said softly.

"Hi." I was frozen in place.

"Lilly has strep throat. Alice wanted me to come by and pick up any work Lilly will miss today, and maybe the beginning of next week."

I laughed softly. I was only just getting to know Alice, but I knew her well enough to notice her typical overreactive behavior. "Well, we were actually starting work on our term paper today. I'm glad Alice sent you by, otherwise Lilly would be very far behind."

Edward looked at me cautiously for a moment, trying to decide whether or not I was being serious.

This time my laugh was full and I could feel my face reddening with each giggle. "I'm only kidding, Edward. Missing a few days of first grade isn't going to kill her."

Edward smiled and followed me towards Lilly's desk as I grabbed her handwriting book. I stuck a few activity sheets into her book and handed them to Edward as he shifted Lilly on his hip.

"I thought about you when that storm came through last night," Edward said. From the way his eyes were roaming over my face, I knew he could tell I was exhausted.

"It was a doosy, wasn't it?"

"I almost called to check on you," he said. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he sounded shy.

"Really?" I felt the stress of the previous night lift off of my shoulders. It felt good that he had been thinking of me. "I wish you would have," I smiled.

"I didn't want to wake you incase you slept through it," he admitted.

Lilly yawned loudly and I glanced down at her before locking eyes with Edward again. "I was wide awake half of the night. Old habits die hard I guess..."

Edward grinned, "What, needing a cuddle buddy? I guess I should have called then."

I could only manage a strangled chuckle as my heart threatened to beat out of my chest.

"Uncle Eddie," Lilly spoke up, saving me from my embarrassment. "I want to go back home."

She sounded just as pitiful as she looked and I reached up to run my fingers through her dark hair.

"I hope you feel better soon, Lilly."

"Thanks, Ms. Swan."

There was a small silence that fell over the three of us as Lilly leaned her head back down on Edward's shoulders. I smiled at her exhausted form and looked up to meet Edward's eyes. His expression confused me and my hands froze in Lilly's hair. He looked like he was struggling with something, but just as soon as I noticed the change in his demeanor, it was gone.

"I should let you get back to work," Edward said, glancing around at the lesson I was setting up.

I nodded, sad that he and Lilly had to leave already.

"Do you want to stop by after school? I could use some help working with Lilly on her homework."

"Since first grade handwriting is so difficult," I laughed. Edward blushed slightly and grinned. "I would love to."

Edward smiled and waved goodbye as he and Lilly ducked out of the room.

The rest of the afternoon flew by and I soon found myself cleaning up my desk, grabbing a few things to take to Edward's for Lilly to work on. I was just turning out of the parking lot when my cell phone started ringing. I couldn't hold in the squeal that left my mouth as I saw the caller ID.

"ANGELA!"

"BELLA!"

"Oh, my gosh, I have been such a horrible friend."

"It's okay, Bella...I know things have been crazy for you. I just wanted to call and make sure you were alive."

"I am! Alive and well. And actually about to be really busy. Can I call you later on tonight?" I felt horrible, but I was nearing Edward's neighborhood and I didn't want to stay on the phone so long that I would lose my nerve to actually go inside.

"Sure you can. What's going on?"

"I'm just going to give work to a student who has strep throat. Her uncle stopped by with her today and asked me to drop by after school and help with her homework."

"Uh huh," Angela said thoughtfully. "Help?...With handwriting and simple math?"

I shrugged, forgetting that she couldn't see me. "He's a nice guy and he asked me to come over. He's one of the few friends I actually have in this town."

"A friend? Thats a guy?"

I sighed, "Yes, Angela. His name is Edward."

"Is he married?"

"No."

"Is he single?"

"Yes."

"Is he hot?"

"Gorgeous."

"Bella! What the hell are you doing being his friend! Get out there and start dating again!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Angela. He's a nice guy that is totally out of my league...And he is a family member of one of my students. There has to be something in the handbook about that."

"Quit making excuses, Bella. You know you can't just be friends with this guy."

"I can, too. And I'll prove it."

Angela sighed, "Don't miss out on something great just to prove a point to me, Bella. Give me a call when you get home. Love you."

"Love you too, Ang. I'll call you later."

I hung up the phone just as I pulled into Edward's driveway.

_You can do this. You can totally do this._

I took a deep breath, letting it out in a big whoosh when I plopped out of the truck and grabbed the extra work for Lilly.

_Here goes nothing,_ I thought as I knocked gently on the door.

* * *

Thoughts?

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	10. A Female Friend

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**Edward Masen**

I couldn't remember opening my phone and putting it next to my ear. Did it even ring? This must be a dream.

"Edward." Alice's voice was unmistakable, even in my semi-conscious state. "Edward, I need you to do something."

My mouth stretched into a yawn and I leaned away from my phone. "What's up?" I mumbled.

My sister took a deep, flustered breath. I knew her well enough to guess that something wasn't going her way. "Lilly has strep throat, and I absolutely cannot get out of work. Jasper's already gone for the day, and Mom and Dad can't watch her, either…"

"I'll do it," I interrupted, waking up. My heart broke for my sick niece. "I've got some work to do, but I can do it from home. Can you drop her off at my place?"

Alice breathed a sigh of relief. "That's fine. I'll bring her on my way to work. Now, she can't eat anything solid except maybe popsicles, so only give her the one-hundred percent fruit juice ones…"

I scoffed at the fact my sister was trying to force natural, healthy foods down my niece's throat when she was sick. I silently vowed to feed Lilly anything she could eat in her condition. "Got it—all natural."

"No milkshakes, no malts, nothing with high fructose corn syrup…"

"Alice," I snapped, sitting up in my bed. "I'll take good care of her."

She chuckled. "I'm leaving the house now…get rid of the booze and the women."

It was my turn to laugh. "My dear sister, you should know better; it would take a lot more than ten minutes to get rid of all the girls in this bachelor pad."

"Dream on, Edward," she said. I could hear the car door slam. "Lilly, get in your car seat. Yes, honey, I know you just want to lie down, but you need to get in your seat…"

I hung up the phone and let my feet swing out of the bed. They landed with a thump on the carpet as I ran my hands through my hair. I knew I had less than ten minutes to either jump in the shower and get dressed or skip trying to look presentable and just throw on a pair of jeans and a crumpled shirt. Both options required me to stand up and actually do something. So instead of moving, I grabbed my phone and dialed the university's number.

"This is Edward Masen. I'm cancelling my classes for the day."

The lady on the phone seemed happy enough to relay the message to my students. It was common for professors to cancel classes, so I wasn't worried about being lazy. Besides, my sick niece needed me more than hormonal girls and a cocky boys.

I walked through my house and cleaned up the few empty soda cans littered around. Normally, I kept my house fairly clean. Having Alice as an obsessive sister helped me learn the good habits of vacuuming and not leaving food out for weeks on end. My entire family praised me for my clean 'bachelor pad,' Emmett especially. My entire house was more germ-free than his car.

Minutes later, I saw my sister pull into my driveway. I wasn't exactly watching for her car, but the bright canary yellow of her 911 Porsche was difficult to miss. I waited by the front door and opened it when she approached. She was carrying a sleeping Lilly in her arms, somehow managing to also hold a large designer purse.

"She'll probably sleep for a while," Alice explained as I stepped out to greet her. "When she wakes up, try to get her to eat some organic cereal. If she won't eat that, make her try some natural applesauce or natural popsicles."

"Alice," I said. "I don't have organic cereal or natural applesauce. I do, however, have Froot Loops and push-pops."

She scoffed at me. "I brought them with me. Put these in the freezer before they melt." She pulled a plastic bag from her purse and shoved it in my arms.

Lilly moved around in Alice's arms. "Mommy, can I go to bed now?"

Alice walked straight to my guest room and laid Lilly on top of the bed. "Mommy has to go to work now. Uncle Edward will take care of you, okay sweetie?"

Her little faced brightened marginally. "Uncle Eddie will be here all day?"

"That's right, Lil," I said, standing over Alice's shoulder. "Just you and me."

Alice turned to me, looking stern. "I called the school and told them she was sick, but I need you to go up there and get her make-up work. Make sure she gets it done, because we're going to try to get her back to school tomorrow."

"The girl has strep throat, Alice," I said, my voice nearly a whisper. "She's not going to feel like doing anything."

"She needs to get it finished," Alice argued. "Just encourage her to try. Ms. Swan is supposed to make a folder for me…"

Bella Swan. I had forgotten all about the pizza dinner the previous night, and how I learned more about the mysterious female. I realized that she never texted me telling me if she made it home or not. I assumed she did, considering Alice mentioned her. Why did she choose not to get a hold of me?

"I have to go," Alice said, catching my attention. "Call me if you can't remember something. When in doubt, don't feed it to her."

"Okay, Alice." I had no intention of upholding her requests, but I wanted her to be blissfully ignorant. "Nothing artificial."

She paused and gave me a pleading look. The real Alice, the one that didn't care about healthy food and whether or not something was organic, was silently begging me to take precious care of her only daughter. I knew that it scared Alice to death when Lilly was sick, mostly because of her size. She had a valid reason to be worried for her daughter. When Lilly was born premature, Alice nearly killed herself worrying. It was a trying time for our family, and nothing reassures us more than seeing an energetic Lilly run circles around us.

"Take care of her," she said quietly. "Call me if anything goes wrong."

I put an arm around her and squeezed her small shoulders. "Don't worry; she's under the best care."

With that, Alice left the house and sped off in her sports car. I watched her leave, feeling slightly envious that she owned a Porsche and I just had a Volvo.

After putting the popcicles in my freezer, I strolled into the guest room and saw Lilly sitting up, looking ghostly pale. "Hey, kiddo," I said, sitting next to her.

"I'm hungry," she declared, her breath rancid with the smell of strep throat.

"What are you hungry for?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Mommy won't let me have it."

I leaned in, breathing through my mouth. "Mommy's not here, kiddo. It's just you and me. Now, what are you hungry for?"

"I want a chocolate chip cookie dough milkshake," she said, sounding hopeful. "Or a vanilla bean milkshake."

"I'll make you a deal." I ran a hand through my hair. "If you eat just a little applesauce for me, I'll get you a milkshake on the way to pick up your schoolwork, and on the way back."

Her eyes sparkled. "Yay!"

"Don't tell your mother," I warned, giving her a serious look.

"I don't want to be grounded again," Lilly said somberly.

* * *

"Do I have to go inside, Uncle Eddie?" Lilly asked, sipping from her second milkshake.

I turned my Volvo off and turned around to look at my sick niece. "Sorry, Lil," I said. "I don't want to leave you in the car by yourself. I'll carry you the whole time," I promised.

"Can I bring my milkshake?" she asked.

I nodded and pulled my keys from the ignition. I walked around my car and opened the back seat door, lifting Lilly into my arms. She held the milkshake close to her chest; I was relieved that her skin was a normal temperature instead of the way it was before her medicine.

The parking lot was relatively full. I would've been worried that Bella wasn't there if I hadn't seen her ancient truck. I practically jogged up the walkway with my niece in my arms. The building was quiet for an elementary school, and I felt like my footsteps disturbed the silence. Lilly sniffled.

Outside her door on a black corkboard, Bella's name was depicted with pink letters. She had pictures of her students on the board as well. Lilly's face hung right below the 'Miss,' and I smiled at her happy little face that looked so much like my sister's.

Bella was writing on her board with purple chalk while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She jumped slightly when she heard me walk in. With one hand, I closed the door behind us. Lilly smiled at her and gave her a tiny wave, her hand still holding her milkshake.

"Hey." I couldn't help but notice the pink tint in her cheeks. Or the fact that her blue silk shirt was rather flattering on her frame.

"Hi," she said back. Her eyes were on Lilly, and her face softened.

I cleared my throat, and I felt Lilly shiver slightly in my arms. Either the fever was back or she had brain freeze, and I prayed it was the latter. "Lilly has strep throat. Alice wanted me to come by and pick up any work Lilly will miss over the next few days."

Bella laughed, and I couldn't help but smile back at her. "Well," she began. "We were actually starting work on our term paper today. I'm glad Alice sent you by, otherwise Lilly would be very far behind."

My mind was hung up on two words: term paper. Her words didn't make sense to me, especially when term papers were something I assigned to my college students. Was Bella Swan _really_ that strict of a teacher? I looked around her room and saw that the decorations were misleading to her nature. I was grateful my first grade teacher did not assign term papers.

Her laugh pierced my thoughts. I looked at her curiously, but she just tilted her head to the side and said, "I'm only kidding, Edward. Missing a few days of first grade isn't going to kill her." She giggled at my expression.

I laughed with her as we walked to her desk, where she gathered Lilly's work. Lilly didn't stop shivering, and I knew it wasn't brain freeze.

"I thought about you," I said suddenly, "when the storm came through last night."

She cocked her head to the side. "It was a doosy, wasn't it?"

"I almost called to check on you." I wanted to hit myself as soon as the words escaped my mouth.

"Really?" Her face lit up. "I wish you would have."

I had the urge to grab her tiny body and pull her to me so I could run my fingers through her hair and kiss her forehead. Instead, I said, "I didn't want to wake you incase you slept through it."

Just then, Lilly yawned in my arms.

"Uncle Eddie." I grimaced as she spoke, remembering my solemn promise to kill Emmett for that nickname. "I want to go home."

Bella stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. She took a step towards us and ran her long fingers through Lilly's black hair. The action knocked the wind out of me as I noticed how motherly Bella appeared to be. Not only did I wonder what kind of a mom she would be, I also wanted to know what her fingers would feel like in my hair.

She knotted the hair around her fingers in a way that wouldn't be painful to Lilly. My niece closed her eyes and momentarily stopped shivering. A smile pulled at Bella's lips as she glanced up at me and caught me staring. Her fingers froze, and I quickly wiped any bit of emotion from my face.

"I should let you get back to work," I said quickly, taking a step back.

I saw her face fall as she nodded.

Without thinking, I said, "Do you want to stop by after school?" I realized that I needed an excuse for her to come over. "I could use some help working with Lilly on her homework."

She called my bluff. "Since first grade handwriting is so hard," she said sarcastically. Her smile never faltered, even though I felt myself blush and laugh with her. "I would love to."

We said our goodbyes and I started to walk out of the room, but I turned around to look at her one more time. I had the start of a sentence on the tip of my tongue. The words stopped when I saw she was right behind me, walking to the hallway as well.

I was so close to putting my free hand under her chin so I could plant a kiss on her lips, but the bell rang. Suddenly, the hallways filled with noise. Recess was over. It was probably a good thing, because it would've been a disaster to kiss my niece's first grade teacher.

That was when I had my realization.

As beautiful and intriguing as she was, I needed to be responsible about anything involving a relationship. I didn't want a kiss to lead to a short-term fling that ended when my niece advanced to the second grade. I had managed to learn only limited details of her life. If I was going to do things right, I needed to gain her trust. Friendship was the answer, not dating or sex. At least, not at the moment.

It was perfectly clear: I had to be friends with a woman.

Just friends.

Can a man and a woman really be _just_ friends?

"I better get Lil out of here," I said, seeing that the hallway outside of her room was filling with students. "I'll text you later, I promise."

She smiled timidly. "I hope you feel better, Lilly!"

Lilly waved. "Bye!"

We made our way through the halls, me dodging students carefully. I tried to think back to my days as a student, and I wondered if I was that short. Surely not. I felt as if I was going to crush one of them underneath my shoes.

It took me about fifteen minutes to make it from the school to my house. Lilly was asleep when I pulled into the driveway, so I carried her inside to the guestroom and tucked her into bed. She stirred as I was pulling her blankets up, and I told her I was going to give her some medicine before she went to sleep.

As I was pouring the medicine into the measuring cup, my cell phone rang; it was my sister.

"How's my little girl doing?" she asked, sounding worried. I admired my sister for the amazing mother she was. When she was pregnant with Lilly, she kept herself in healthy shape. She took long walks, drank the correct amounts of water and milk, and kept herself well-nourished. Alice did everything she could to make sure her pregnancy was top shape.

Lilly came almost a month early. Jasper and Alice were talking a walk together when her water broke, and that's when the frenzy began. The entire family stopped what they were doing and rushed to the hospital. Our father desperately wanted to be in the room with Alice when he knew her condition was fragile, but his superiors were strongly against it. The only person they allowed inside was Jasper.

The three hours it took to deliver Lilly were the most anxious hours of my life. There were a few times when Jasper came out of the delivery room looking pale and scared, but a scream from Alice always brought him back to earth. When Lilly was finally born, she was small and needed to be put on a breathing machine. That was when I wrote her song.

The few chords were simple yet complex, just like Alice. They were to be played with expression and passion, two adjectives that described my sister perfectly. When Lilly finally was able to breathe on her own and I held her for the first time, I finished out the song.

Lilly was important in our family. Alice had just recently started working full time again now that Lilly was in first grade. My sister thought that Lilly was the light of my life, so she made sure I had as much time with my niece as I needed.

This is why I smiled when Alice asked me about her one and only daughter. "She's fine. I'm giving her a dose of a fever reducer before she takes a nap."

"Yeah, if she's not better by tomorrow, I'm taking her to the doctor." Alice sighed. "I just get so worried when she's sick."

"I know you do. It was bound to happen, though. She just started first grade and she's around kids all day."

"I knew I should've homeschooled her," Alice said, only partially serious.

I changed the subject quickly. "What time are you picking her up?"

"Seven or eight," she said. "But I'll try to leave early."

I closed the top on the medicine bottle. "I should get your daughter some medicine. Call me when you're on your way here so I can get her ready, alright?"

"I will. Look, Edward, I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

I sighed as I walked into the hallway holding the medicine cup. "Yes?"

I heard her take a deep breath. "Jasper and I love that you're around for Lilly. You're like the built-in babysitter of the family. But have you been with another girl besides our daughter?"

"I really hate the way you phrased that question, Alice," I said, grimacing.

She sighed loudly. "You know what I mean. Answer the question."

"I don't need a woman in my life. I'm fine with my life now." My thoughts drifted to Bella and the delicate blush on her cheeks. "Besides, I have a female friend."

"You do?!" she gasped. "That's great! Who is she? Anyone I've met?"

I ran a hand through my hair and silently kicked myself for mentioning it. "Yeah, you know her. She's really nice and…"

I trailed off when I noticed Alice wasn't listening. She was talking to someone on her end. "Look, Edward," she finally said. "I have to go. Don't think we're not going to finish this conversation later."

We said our goodbyes and I walked into Lilly's room. She was sprawled out on the bed, looking pitiful.

"One dose of medicine and you can go to sleep, okay?" I said, sitting down next to her.

She shook her head. "That medicine tastes bad!"

"If you drink it fast, I'll give you a popsicle."

She thought about it for a moment, and then nodded her head. She chugged the medicine, making a face the entire time. I ran to the freezer and grabbed an orange-flavored popsicle, cutting the top off. She stuck it in her mouth immediately, her face no longer twisted. Soon after the popsicle was gone, she settled herself back into bed and dozed off.

I decided the quiet time would be well spent doing my favorite thing in the world: grading papers. I had a stack sitting on my desk that had been ignored for too long, and now I was determined to make a dent.

After about three hours, I was finished with my work. I leaned back in my chair and stretched my arms over my head. Lilly was still asleep, her soft, nasal snores coming from the guest room. The house was quiet, so I put in a Debussy CD. I sighed as classical music filled my ears.

I knew the piece so well that I picked up the four loud noises in the middle of a phrase. Someone was knocking on my door quietly. I looked at the clock and wondered who was paying me a visit at five o'clock in the afternoon. I took off my reading glasses on the way to the door.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Bella standing outside of my door, clutching a notebook in her arms. Her hair was down, different than it had been when I saw her at school. Her cheeks were slightly pink as the October night air chilled.

"Hey," I said, standing in the doorway. "I forgot you were stopping by."

Her eyes widened. "Is this a bad time?"

"No," I said, shaking my head quickly. "I was just doing some schoolwork."

"Story of my life." Her head craned forward. "Can I come in?"

_Smooth, Edward,_ I scolded myself. _You're a perfect gentleman._

"Of course," I recovered quickly. "Sorry about that. Excuse the mess."

She scoffed. "Are you kidding? Your house is immaculate compared to mine. I've still got boxes lining the walls."

"There's a six month limit to having packed boxes around," I said, smiling at her as she walked past me. "You've got at least another three months."

"Before what?" she teased, shooting me a smile that could have melted the most cold-hearted. "The packing police will arrest me?"

I shrugged. "I've seen it happen," I said gravely.

Her shoulders shook as she laughed. "Where's Lilly?"

"She passed out when we got home. I'm pretty sure that medicine knocked her out," I explained.

Bella pouted. "So much for handwriting help."

"I'd offer you a glass of wine, but I don't drink when she's in the house," I said, shoving my hands in my pockets. "I can, however, offer you a root beer."

"I like root beer." I was making her laugh a lot tonight, which made me feel accomplished. It was something a friend would do for a friend.

Or something a guy would do for a girl he wants to impress, but that was beside the point.

As we walked to my kitchen, she saw the stack of college papers on my desk and grabbed the top one, titled 'The Baroque Period: If It's Not Baroque, Don't Fix It'. Her eyebrows wrinkled.

"This is like Greek to me," she admitted, looking confused.

"It's Greek to most people in my class." I handed her a root beer and opened my own, sipping it slowly.

She shook her head. "First grade is so much easier. From the looks of it, the University of Oklahoma has pretty high standards on essays."

"And USC doesn't?" I asked.

"Oh, Edward," she said, nudging me playfully. "Stop trying to pick a fight with me just because I went to USC."

"How do you feel about Kansas University?" I asked, changing the subject slightly.

She shrugged. "The Jayhawks are inferior to the Trojans."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, but would you be willing to go to the OU game with me?"

"The KU/OU game?" she asked, sounding shocked. "You have tickets?"

"I have two tickets," I said. "One for me, and one for you. If you'd like to go, that is." I watched her face intently, looking for signs of rejection. I was relieved when she smiled.

"I can't believe you're wasting a ticket on me," she began. "But it's your mistake and it's not my place to correct you."

I heard soft footsteps coming from the hallway as I chuckled. Lilly appeared, rubbing her eyes tenderly. She had the queen-sized quilt wrapped around her shoulders that swept the floor as she walked.

"Uncle Eddie?" she called. My guess was that she hadn't seen Bella. I bent down and swung her up in my arms, blanket and all.

I felt her forehead with my free hand and was relieved when it was a normal temperature. "Feeling better, Lil?"

She nodded, yawning in my face and giving me a whiff of her strep throat breath. "I'm hungry."

"How does chicken noodle soup sound?" I asked, working through the nausea from the rancid smell.

Bella stepped forward, and Lilly's eyes brightened. "Soup is good, Lilly."

"Hi, Ms. Swan," she said shyly. "If Uncle Eddie cooks soup, will you stay and eat it with us? You can help me with my work so my mommy doesn't get mad."

Bella put her hand on Lilly's cheek and stroked it gently. "Of course, hon. We're learning how to write our names in cursive."

"Well," I said, putting Lilly down onto the floor. "I guess this means I need to make some soup. Lilly, go lay down on the couch and I'll call you when it's ready."

She nodded and walked away, her bare feet smacking against the wood floor. Bella looked at me and smiled sadly.

"Even miserable, she's happy," she commented. She looked at me. "Soup?"

We stood in the kitchen together, chatting comfortably as she helped me throw ingredients into a large pot. She mentioned the weather and how terrified she was after Open House, going home to an empty house during a thunderstorm. Storms weren't that severe in Washington according to Bella. I told her about the famous tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma. The terrified expression on her face caused me to assure her that a tornado like that was rare and almost never hit Norman.

I subtly asked about the real reason she moved to Oklahoma, but she put up an invisible wall. She refused to tell me anything more than she wanted a new start. Apparently, Washington wasn't where she belonged anymore, and when she saw the position open up in Oklahoma, she jumped at the opportunity. She told me about her father back home and her mother that lived in Jacksonville, Florida.

The three of us ate dinner at my dining room table that doubled as a catch-all for mail, keys, coats, and whatever else I had in my hands at the time. The tablespoon Lilly was using was almost too big for her, but she managed to drink almost half of her bowl. Bella sipped her soup slowly, and I worked very hard to keep my eyes away from her mouth. I slipped a few times, watching her lick her lips after each bite of noodles and chicken. Every time I felt myself getting turned on by the sight, I reminded myself that Lilly was in the room and that Bella was just a friend. Nothing else.

At least, not yet.

"I should get home," she said after washing her plate in my sink. I begged her to let me take care of the dishes, but she refused. Lilly was sitting in my recliner watching Sponge Bob.

A pair of headlights swept through the kitchen. "That would be Alice," I said quietly. "Be prepared."

"For what?

Before I could reply, Alice came in through the front door and danced into my kitchen. Her eyes were on fire, no doubt because she noticed Bella's antique red truck sitting in my driveway.

"Hi, Bella," she said, greeting her with a too-innocent smile. "What brings you to my brother's house?"

I noticed that Bella's face had turned a delicate shade of scarlet. "She came by to help Lilly with her work."

Alice laughed airily. "That's so nice of you, Bella. I didn't realize you and Edward were such good _friends_." She looked at me and winked subtly. Sometimes, I hated my sister.

"Mommy!" Lilly ran out from the living room and launched herself into Alice's arms. It always amazed me to see them together; Alice was tiny enough already, and Lilly was about half her size. My mother often wondered how she gave birth to me, a little over six feet tall, and Alice, the pixie.

After I said goodbye to my family, Bella and I were left on my porch together. We looked at each other awkwardly before I said, "I'll walk you to your car."

She nodded and thanked me. As we walked across my front lawn, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do once we reached her truck. Did I hug her? Kiss her on the cheek? Give her a high five? It was more difficult having a female friend than I imagined.

Oddly enough, Bella made the decision for me. When we stopped in front of her truck, she turned around and threw her arms around my neck. The action caught me off guard, but I hugged her back with vigor. Her sensual smell was nearly my undoing. I was praying that she would choose to run her fingers through my hair.

I came to my senses and peeled her off of me, trying to appear unmoved by her act of affection. "Goodnight, Bella," I said in the most proper voice I could manage.

"Oh," she said, her bottom lip sticking out just a bit. "Goodnight, Edward. Thanks for dinner. I guess I'll see you on Saturday?"

"I'll pick you up," I agreed.

She bit her lip. "You don't know where I live."

I smiled and turned on my heel. "Text me your address. I'll Google it."

I felt like a jerk for giving her the closing line "I'll Google it" and walking away like she was insignificant. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was most likely how a male friend treated a female friend. If Alice, my little sister and best friend in a way, gave me a hug like that, I would've left much sooner. I felt my actions were appropriate the more I thought about it.

"I can do this," I said to myself after locking my door. "Friends with a female…how hard could it be?"

* * *

The next night after work, I had a long talk with Jasper.

"Have you ever _had_ a female friend, Edward?" Jasper asked me when I told him about Bella.

I shrugged my shoulders and took a sip of my beer. "I guess Tanya and I were friends at first."

"Yeah, well," Jasper said. "Good luck with that."

"Oh, I'm sure you've had a female friend," I countered.

He nodded. "And then I married her."

The wind blew and leaves flooded the porch where we were standing. Jasper moved his blonde hair from his face. "Look, I respect what you're trying to do. It's noble and admirable. But if you want to keep this girl around, you need to be the best friend you can be. Make her see that she wants you."

"Maybe I'm not ready for this," I mumbled. "I mean, what happened with Tanya…I'm not sure I'm over it."

"You haven't dated in years, man," Jasper pointed out, clapping me on the shoulder with his hand. "Go out on a limb. You'll be fine."

"We'll see," I said as I finished off my beer and crushed the can in my hands.

* * *

There was a buzzing all around the University of Oklahoma's main campus that was impossible to ignore, no matter how hard I tried. Although I wanted to conduct my class and prepare them for the upcoming test, no one seemed interested in what I had to say. I couldn't blame them; the home game for the Sooners was a big deal, and I knew that the majority of the campus would be in those bleachers, cheering against the Jayhawks.

I was excited, too. It was a chance for my football team to get ahead in the polls, and to gain bragging rights against anyone who tried to contest the fact that the Sooners were number one. Bragging rights I would have over a certain brunette Trojan. I shook my head of the thought.

Sitting in my desk drawer was a shirt that I found for the football game. It wasn't for me, considering that OU was my alma mater and I had countless crimson shirts to prove my loyalty. No, it was for Bella, my date to the football game. I didn't find it for her with the intention of it being a substitute for something like roses or chocolates that a man would traditionally give the woman on the first date—although, all things considering, it wasn't a date—but mostly because I knew she would try to wear a Trojans shirt instead. I didn't feel like being the center of a riot.

When my last class was over, I went home and prepared for the next day. I thought Friday was bad, but I knew Saturday at OU would be ten times worse. Traffic would be horrible, and the hordes of students would probably scare her right out of Oklahoma.

Instead of Googling Bella's address with her full name, I cheated and asked her to text me the street name and number. Technically, I did a Google Map search, so maybe I did live up to my word. She didn't live that far away from me, but with Norman being a college town, everything was close to me.

Alice insisted that Bella was my 'crustacean.' That wasn't the word she used, but I couldn't remember exactly what she'd said. All she mentioned was that she watched an episode of 'Friends' and that two characters were meant for each other, like Bella and me. I couldn't understand why Alice would compare me to seafood, but it was always safer never to question my sister.

When I woke up on Saturday morning, the first thing I did was take a shower. I wanted to smell fresh and clean so that hopefully Bella would associate the scent of freshness with me. It could stick in her mind forever, and when she caught a whiff of Irish Spring body wash, she would think of me. Being friends didn't mean I objected to being on her mind.

I sent Bella a text message letting her know I was on my way. The red shirt was sitting in the passenger seat, where Bella would be in the next hour. I hoped she wouldn't take the gesture as offensive. I wanted her to fit into the Crimson and Cream crowd. Besides, I was very curious to see what she would look like in my shirt.

She was waiting on her front porch. Her hair was pulled into a casual ponytail, yet I had a feeling it took her forever to make it look like that. She stood up when she saw my car. She was wearing a red t-shirt with white lace peaking out from the hem. When I got out of my car and took a step closer, I saw the gold on the front of the shirt.

"Absolutely not," I said, shaking my head and pulling on the sleeve of her shirt. "I can't let you wear this."

Bella threw her head back and laughed. "I knew it would bug you. What did you think I was going to wear?"

I shrugged as I opened my door for her. "Not a USC shirt. Do you realize what could happen if you go to the game like that?"

"Nope." She smacked her lips on the word. "You should calm down, though," she said, touching my shoulder gently. "It's just a shirt."

I chuckled. "You obviously haven't been to an OU game."

She stuck her tongue out at me and opened the passenger door, climbing in. When I got in, she gave me a curious look and held up the red shirt in her seat.

"And just what is this?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. She held the shirt in her fingers like it was something that contained many diseases. I was slightly offended.

"It's what I was hoping you would wear. The safer option, if you will," I explained, backing out of her driveway.

She crinkled her nose, and I found myself struggling not to smile at her cuteness. "It's hideous. Ugh." She inhaled the scent. "It even smells."

"What?" I looked at her with wide eyes, snatching the shirt away and taking a whiff. "That's impossible. I washed it before I even brought it."

Bella yanked it from my hands. "It smells like OU," she said, her face looking disgusted. Smelling it again, she added, "God, what is that? Boomer? Sooner? I think I'm going to be sick."

"Shut up, Bella," I snapped, a smile tugging at my lips. I playfully swatted her shoulder, glad to have the contact. I turned my full attention to the road.

The radio was on and was tuned to the Sooner network. They covered the pregame, going over the stats for the Jayhawks. I smirked; they didn't stand a chance.

"I'll warn you now," I said, pulling my car in front of a 'For Rent' house at least a mile away from the stadium. "Traffic will be hell."

When she looked at me, her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open slightly. It was a breathtaking sight, but I kept my face emotionless. "So you're parking on the other side of Norman to avoid it?" her voice squeaked.

I had to laugh at her fear. "I'll bet you're rethinking that USC shirt right about now."

After my car was locked, I walked around to her side and stuck out my arm for her to take. She slid her arm through the crook of my elbow and we began walking down the sidewalk. It was a relatively mild October day, the temperature reaching the mid-seventies. Every time the wind blew, I could smell her hair. It was madness.

We passed other OU fans, decked out in crimson and cream. They glared at Bella and the golden lettering on the front of her shirt. Every time someone turned their head to look at her, she positioned herself closer to me, squishing our arms between us. At one point, I removed my arm from hers and instead placed it around her shoulders.

As the stadium came into view and the sea of red became thicker with each step we took, I leaned over an inch and whispered into her ear. "Prepare yourself."

"For what?" She shivered in my grasp, but I tried not to notice.

I inhaled deeply. The air smelled like Bella's hair and corn dogs, slightly mixed with freshly fallen leaves. It was soothing. I looked at her and smiled. "Boomer Sooner."

* * *

So thoughts?? Leave a review and we'll send you a snippet of a Bella/Edward convo coming up!


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry for the wait, but here you go! I hope you enjoy it :) Coldasicex3 and I are working hard to get things rolling now that its basically summertime! So don't forget to review and let us know what you think!

Don't own it...

**EPOV**

Before I gave Bella her OU shirt, before I took a shower, and before I got out of bed, I had been dreaming of her. It was nothing inappropriate, but it was enough to make me extremely happy to see her now.

We were walking down a street, arm in arm. She was wearing a white OU shirt and jeans and her hair was fanned out around her shoulders. We were skipping down the street (perhaps this is where the madness was) singing show tunes and it suddenly started to rain. Big, fat drops hit us on the head as we ran across the street, seemingly nowhere. I'm sure, in the dream, we had a destination, but at the time, we were simply running and getting more saturated than if we would've walked.

In true Bella fashion, she tripped over a pebble (again, dream madness…I think) and sent us both tumbling down into a puddle. She ripped a hole in her jeans, but her knee did not bleed. I landed on my tailbone, but it didn't hurt. Instead, we both began laughing furiously. Bella threw her head back and let the rain hit her in the face, looking like an angel. Her shirt stuck to her delicate curves in the most amazing way. I didn't try to kiss her; instead, I simply stared at her and laughed whole heartedly.

Such an innocent dream.

When I met Tanya, my dreams were vivid and extremely graphic. In fact, I wouldn't even tell her about them for fear of being slapped. Most dreams involved a public place and a huge risk of being caught in a compromising position. I never felt respect, love, or adoration for her in the dreams; I simply wanted pleasure.

On my way to Bella's house, I analyzed both dreams, comparing and contrasting them in a way that would've made my father proud if he were to read it in an essay. I came to a conclusion: I wanted to tread lightly with sweet Bella, and my actions reflected in the innocence of my dreams. With Tanya, I knew how explosive our passion would be. I knew that one of the main motives in our relationship was lust.

Now, walking along the street with Bella on my arm, I couldn't help but thinking back to the dream. The skies were clear and her shirt was red, but I still yearned for a bit of rain. She asked me questions about Kansas University, and I answered as best I could without losing focus. I had to be extra careful with Bella now, because I knew that I couldn't blow our relationship. I didn't want to be too forward with her. Our relationship needed time to grow and progress; I needed her to trust me with everything, and I needed to trust her.

The game was interesting. Kansas put up a fight, but OU took their attempts and turned them into touchdowns. Bella started out with her arms crossed over her chest, trying to hide the gold lettering on her shirt. She once let her guard down and a fan looked directly at the Trojan logo.

"You're in Oklahoma, valley girl," they snarled, and Bella's little body tensed and leaned closer to me. Out of habit, I put one arm around her and handed her the OU shirt with the other hand.

"I told you so," I said into her ear. She rolled her eyes and me and pulled the shirt over her head, looking defeated.

I was proud of Bella by halftime. Not only did she understand exactly what was happening (except for a few minor things that not even I had a clear grasp on), she cheered for my team and looked like she was having fun. Bella was never this relaxed and carefree around me. We were like old friends enjoying time together. I loved it.

The wind shifted and began blowing from the North. The whole stadium seemed to shiver, including Bella. My mind suddenly stopped. What was I supposed to, now? Did I wrap my arms around her and draw her close to me? No, no, that was too forward, and I wanted to avoid anything that was too forward. I thought of what I would do if Rosalie shivered at the game. Rosalie and I were friends. I would give her my sweatshirt with no reservations. Although, knowing Rosalie, she would spit on it and shove it into my hands with a smile on her face.

I shrugged out of my sweatshirt and placed it around Bella's shoulders. She looked shocked, yet grateful. Then, she pushed it back to me.

"You'll be cold," she complained, crossing her arms over her torso.

I shook my head. "I wore layers."

Reluctantly, she pulled the sweatshirt over her head. It was at least two sizes to large for her, and I laughed. She pouted, sticking out her bottom lip.

"I'm sure you just love the image of me decked out in Crimson and Cream," she snapped.

I shrugged. "Not as much as I love not seeing that horrible shirt you were wearing."

She laughed and punched me in the shoulder. She tightened the sweatshirt around her, shielding her body from the wind.

After the end of the third quarter, I found myself bored. Yes, I enjoyed watching the Sooners win, but the game lost my interest once they were up by four touchdowns. The stadium was packed, and I knew from experience that it would be hell trying to get out with the crowd.

"Hey, Bella?" I asked, my voice straining over the cries of joy.

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind if we cut out early? We don't have to if you're having fun, but–"

She shook her head quickly. "That sounds fine. I'm kind of…bored."

I laughed as I stood up, grabbing all of our belongings. We walked down the stairs, through the insides of the stadium. I fought the urge to grab Bella's hand. It was just so small and delicate. But I knew grabbing her hand would put us in an awkward place, and I wasn't ready for that.

Once we were back onto the long street, walking to my car, I caught her staring at the many pumpkins sitting out on doorsteps. Some were carved with the OU logo. I saw Bella roll her eyes.

"What was Halloween like in Washington?" I asked her.

She took a deep breath of cool air. "Rainy. Not to mention, in little towns, there aren't many little kids."

"What does that mean?"

"One year, I decided to go all out. I started saving toilet paper rolls and painting them orange and black with ghosts or pumpkins on them. Charlie, my dad, thought I was crazy. I told him I was recycling. Anyway, I stuffed them with really good candy, because I believe that you can't give away goodie bags—or rolls—without having good candy in them. A full sized Snicker bar fits in a toilet paper roll. Did you know that?"

I chuckled, enjoying listening to a rare peak inside her past. "No, I did not."

Bella blushed slightly, but continued her story. "Halloween came, and it was a mercifully rain-free night. It was, like, the first clear Halloween in a decade or something. I waited with my basket full of goodies from six o'clock to nine, official Forks trick-or-treating hours. I had three kids." She shook her head. "I couldn't let the candy go to waste. So I ate it. Worst weekend of my life."

I laughed louder now, throwing my head back at the image of Bella ingesting full sized candy bars. She blushed again and pushed me away as my shoulders shook.

"I'm sure you have an embarrassing Halloween story, too!" She exclaimed.

"Well, yeah. Last year, in fact."

Bella looked at me quizzically. "What happened last year?"

I took a deep breath and thought back. "Alice made me dress up as Shrek, remember?"

Bella scoffed. "I already knew that. Give me another one. Has she ever made you dress up as Peter Pan? Or Superman? Something with tights?"

I shook my head quickly. "I draw the line at tights. Not even my niece can get me into such a horrid contraption."

"What if I asked?" She said, battering her lashes at me. I had to admit, I was shocked. We had stopped walking, and she was staring up at me from under her long eyelashes. She looked incredibly beautiful, and I had the strong urge to kiss her.

In order to stop myself, I began playing along with her game. I stepped closer and looked down on her as if I were the hunter and she were my prey. I leaned down to her right ear and stopped when my lips were inches away from her smooth skin. I saw her visibly tremble and I smiled.

"I would do anything for you," I whispered. "But I won't do that."

She lifted her hands to my chest and pushed me away with all of her strength, smiling the entire time. "I hate you so much, Edward."

"Everyone does," I sighed. "It's why I'm still alone at this age."

"Oh, please," she said, rolling her eyes.

I chuckled. "And what does that mean?"

She shook her head. "I'll make you a deal," she said, changing the subject. "If you and I are still alone by the time we're forty, we'll get married."

I raised my eyebrow. "I'll hit forty first, you know. So when I turn forty, you'll marry me?"

She shrugged. "Sure. We'll be the Masens and we'll go to the country club every Sunday for Brunch. We'll be the only couple in town that doesn't have kids."

"You've thought about this, haven't you?"

"Of course." She tried to sound nonchalant, but I saw the red flood her cheeks. "We'll play tennis and you can wear the sweater tied around your shoulders. I'll wear the big white sunhat because I don't want skin cancer. It'll be a great time."

"So," I began, "let's talk about our wedding, then. Do we elope? Should we throw it in a backyard somewhere?"

Bella laughed somewhat nervously. "Alice's backyard. Lilly will be the flower girl and I'll wear black."

"Will you be in mourning?" When she nodded, I said, "You know, hundreds of women would gladly wear white in celebration of marrying me."

"I'm the only one who matters." Suddenly, she looked extremely embarrassed. "Well, when you turn forty, I will be."

I hated that she looked so embarrassed. I wanted her to feel happy and laugh again. "Let's not tell Alice about the wedding until that day. We can just show up with a priest and say, 'Surprise!' She'll go crazy."

We walked the rest of the street until finally, my Volvo came into view. Just as our feet were beginning to ache, the skies turned dark and big drops began falling. I didn't have time to think about my dream. Instead, all I could think about was getting into the car before it started pouring.

"At least in Washington," she said, her teeth chattering, "we knew when it was going to rain!"

I smiled regretfully. "Sorry about that," I mumbled, as if it were my fault torrential amounts of rain were flooding the streets.

We looked at each other in the safety of my dry car. Both of us were panting heavily. "Now what?" She asked.

"Alice cooks a really good, really healthy turkey burger," I said, feeling my stomach growl. "She's all into healthy stuff, you know."

Bella laughed softly. "So, to Alice's?"

I nodded and started the car. "To Alice's."

**BPOV**

Going to the football game with Edward had been a lot more fun than I had originally thought. Of course, any time with Edward had been enjoyable lately, but I was apprehensive about the time we would be spending alone. What happened to the Bella that was excited about spending time with Edward? That was a good question…I'd have to find her.

Halloween was fast approaching and I did not have a costume idea or any candy to hand out, so I found myself in Wal-Mart on a Thursday afternoon browsing the costume aisle with a basket full of candy that I was hoping would disappear into the mouths of eager children the following night. The last thing I needed was a giant bowl of left over Halloween candy to tempt me for the entire month of November.

I was holding up a long blonde wig and contemplating dressing up as Hannah Montana when I heard a shriek from the end of the aisle.

"Bella! Put that down before it bites you!"

Shocked, I dropped the offensive wig and whirled around to face Alice who was pushing a buggy towards me quickly. A smiling Lilly was waving from the front seat.

"Hi, Ms. Bella!"

"Hello, Lilly," I smiled, leaning down to pick up the wig and hang it back on the hook. "Alice, I never thought I'd see you here."

She rolled her eyes at me and smiled, "Well, I have to work with what I'm given. We needed candy for tomorrow, so here I am. There is a surprisingly low selection of sugar-free candy, though. I'll just have to have some overnighted."

Overnight? Candy? Alice never ceased to amaze me.

I noticed her glancing into my basket and was suddenly embarrassed by my unhealthy assortment of S

Snickers, , and Milky Ways. She sighed as if realizing it was a lost cause and smiled up at me.

Lilly was eyeing the bag of Snickers as if she wanted to rip it open and chow down. I was just about to pick at her about the sweets when her expression changed and she gasped.

"Ooh! DOTS! Those are Uncle Eddie's favorite candy! Oh, Ms. Bella, you _have_ to give him some! He loves them."

I felt myself blush furiously as Lilly noticed the extra cargo in my basket. Alice smiled at me knowingly and shushed Lilly. "I'm sure Ms. Bella will be happy to share with Uncle Eddie."

I cringed and shuffled the contents of my basket around to hide my other purchases before turning back to the wig.

"Why are you so intent on buying that thing?" Alice asked, snatching it from my hands and hanging it up once again.

"Well…I need a costume—"

"Oh, for heavens sakes. Let me make it for you. I have the best idea."

"Alice, I couldn't let you—"

"Don't be ridiculous!"

My head jerked back and I blinked quickly in reaction to being cut off again by this small woman. It was amazing how intimidating she could be.

"Come over for dinner tonight and I will measure you up and send the costume with Lilly tomorrow. I'm ordering in Chinese. One of Jasper's cravings again…"

I smiled as she rolled her eyes lovingly in response to her husband.

"If you insist. Do you want me to bring anything?"

"No, just yourself. I'll see you at my house in an hour!"

Just as she was turning her cart around to leave, Lilly piped up with a comment that made my cheeks burn again. "Mommy, maybe Ms. Swan can give Uncle Eddie some of her sweets tonight."

"Uncle Eddie isn't coming to dinner tonight, Lilly. He had papers to grade."

Alice's voice trailed off as she approached the cash register and I was surprised to find myself frowning at the thought of Edward not being at dinner. He had been a constant fixture in Alice's house every time I had paid a visit for the last few months.

I shook my head, ridding myself of the thought. It was okay for me to be upset about not seeing him…he was one of my best friends. And we hadn't talked a lot since the game the week before. Just as that thought struck me, I began to panic.

Did I turn him away? Was I so set on this friend thing that I was being standoffish?

I thought back to my conversation with Angela.

"_Don't miss out on a good thing just to prove a point to me…"_

Her words echoed in my head as I made my way towards the front of the store. I had other reasons for staying friends with Edward, I told myself. He was Lilly's uncle for one, and I didn't have any experience with dating relatives of students…although I was pretty sure it wasn't the best idea.

And it was way too soon after my relationship with Jacob. I had been with him for almost five years, and it wasn't even six months later that I was starting to develop feelings for someone else. Of course, Jacob hadn't wasted any time moving on, but that was not my concern.

I stopped in the middle of the store, lost in thought as I tried to remember my third reason for not being able to date Edward. I knew there was one…

"That's it!" I exclaimed as the reason suddenly returned to me. My head spun around to meet the curious glances of the strangers around me. I chuckled silently, embarrassed, before continuing my trek to the register.

The third reason I could not date Edward was that he was practically a Greek god. How could a simple Elementary teacher keep someone as divine as him interested for any measure of time? I couldn't even keep Jacob interested, so what made me think I could even attempt to satisfy Edward?

Satisfy Edward…I felt myself blush once again when that thought crossed my mind.

I followed Alice to her house as soon as we both checked out and dialed Angela on the way.

"Hey Ang, I'm sorry I didn't call you back the other day."

"That's okay, Bella. Things got pretty crazy around here, too. How was hanging out with the uncle…what's his name again?"

"Edward," I replied, slightly distracted by all of the traffic around me. Calling Angela at this moment had not been the best idea.

"Right, Edward. How did it go?"

"It was fine. We talked a lot because Lilly was knocked out by her medicine. He invited me to a football game last weekend."

Angela squealed and I heard pots clattering in the background, "Like a _date_?"

"What are you doing? And no, not like a date. He knew I love football, so he invited me to join him at the game."

"I'm cooking dinner. Ben is coming over in a few and I'm just finishing everything up. So, tell me again why you're not head over heels for this guy?"

"I should let you go if you're expecting someone," I said, avoiding her last question.

"Don't even try it, Bella. Spill."

I sighed as I turned into Alice's neighborhood. "It's complicated, Angela. He is family to one of my students…that is just awkward. Its too soon after Jacob—and I know what you're going to say, he's moved on, but that doesn't matter…I don't think I can yet. And, finally…he's beautiful. If I can't keep Jacob interested, what makes me think I can keep Edward?"

"Ah, so you _do_ like him."

I almost growled at her. "What's not to like, Angela? He's charming and good looking and a teacher. He worships the ground Lilly walks on, and he's got the most amazing smile—"

"…Right. So you're holding back because he's too good looking? And you're not over that pond scum ex-boyfriend of yours?"

"Just trust me. It would not be the best thing for us right now. I've got to go—I'm at Alice's heading to dinner."

"Who's Alice?"

"Edward's sister. Lilly's mom."

"His _sister_? You're hanging out with his _family_?"

"Got to go, Angela! Love you, I'll call you later!"

I had to admit, telling Angela I was hanging out with family was not the best idea, even if it was completely innocent.

"Bella!" Alice was standing at her front door, tapping her foot as I hopped out of my car. "I've already called in the dinner order, we have to work fast to get your costume ready! Let's go!"

I sighed and made sure none of my groceries would go bad if I left them in the car for too long. Alice could be exhausting, but I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. Maybe this Halloween wouldn't be too bad.

"So," I began, trying to make conversation while Alice measured every inch of my body, "Edward told me that you make costumes for him and Lilly every year."

"Of course I do! Lilly always thinks up these great ideas for costumes, and Edward just follows along. I can't wait for him to see his costume this year!"

"You haven't told him yet?"

"Oh, no. Lilly wants it to be a surprise. Edward never finds out until he walks in to pick Lilly up. That's when we make him change clothes."

I laughed out loud as I pictured Edward's reaction to some of the costumes Alice could think up. "So last year, when he was Shrek…"

Alice giggled, "It was pretty hard getting him out of the house that time. But, Lilly gave him the puppy dog eyes and he was out the door in thirty seconds."

"He'll do anything she wants him to," I thought out loud.

"He really will!" Alice exclaimed, now measuring a powder blue fabric, "It gets them both in quite a bit of trouble!"

"They make quite a pair."

"They do," Alice agreed, "But I wish Edward would get out more. He needs so much more in his life than my daughter."

I was silent for a moment, feeling that Alice had more that she wanted to say.

"Don't get me wrong, Bella. I love that they are so close. It's really good for Lilly to have someone else around besides Jasper and I all the time, but Edward needs a life of his own. That's why I'm so glad he has you now, Bella. When he took you to the game, that's the first time he has been out without Lilly in quite a while."

Alice could tell I was surprised, but she just shrugged and continued measuring.

"Edward doesn't go out? He doesn't date?"

Alice was cutting the fabric like a maniac now, throwing pieces together and draping them across my arms.

"I keep trying to get him to date, but he's just been so wrapped up in his music since he came back. He had one long term relationship a few years back, but ever since I haven't really seen him out on any dates...until the football game."

Alice gave me some time to think about her last statement, giving me a pointed look as she began sewing. I had never seen anyone work so fast.

Was the football game a date with Edward? He had paid for the tickets, food, and drinks. He drove. He had been such a gentleman, even missing part of the game when I was thirsty. It sure seemed like a date.

Did I want it to be a date?

Part of me did. I knew eventually I would have to get out and date again. A stubborn side of me refused to settle for the fact that Jacob Black would be the last person I would ever kiss. Edward would be the perfect person to force me back into the game.

But, another side of me just wasn't ready for it to be a date. I should be allowed a few months to wallow after a five year relationship…right? I was just now getting to the point where thinking of Jacob didn't make my whole chest hurt.

"Alice…I don't think—"

"I know, Bella. It's hard to move on. But you need to. Don't be so caught up in the past that you can't see what is in front of you. You and Edward need each other."

I thought about that for a moment before I responded. "I'm not going to say I haven't thought about it, Alice, because I have. But you have to promise you won't say anything to Edward, okay? I'm not ready. And who says he is interested anyway?"

Alice made a movement to object to my comment but I shushed her.

"I don't want anyone to be expected to wait on me while I mend my broken heart. Who knows how long that will take, and I can't put someone else's life on hold because I can't get over a man who I left behind."

"Okay, Bella," Alice sighed, "I won't push anything…for now. But you have to trust me; I know what is best for Edward."

I wasn't sure how to take that comment. Was she saying that I am what's best for Edward? I shook my head to try and think of something different. A solid hour talking about Edward set my mind in a haze that was pretty dangerous.

"So, what is Lilly's costume this year?"

"No way, Bella. I'm not telling."

Alice was fierce about her costumes.

"Well…can you at least tell me who I am?"

"Can't you tell? You're Wendy from Peter Pan!"

I glanced around the room until I found a full length mirror hanging in the corner. Taking a step in front of it, I had to smile. Alice had created a long light blue nightgown with a darker blue sash. I did feel like I had walked straight out of a Disney movie.

"And for the final touch," Alice said, pulling my hair up with a blue ribbon. "Tada!"

"Thank you, Alice. This is perfect. I'll wear it tomorrow night when I'm handing out candy."

"Wait," Alice stuttered, "What are you wearing to school tomorrow?"

I laughed quietly as jumped into the bathroom to shrug out of the nightgown and put my clothes back on.

"Oh just something I picked up at Wal-Mart."

Alice shrieked and I ran out of the bathroom and down the stairs quickly to avoid her. She had grabbed a new roll of fabric and was trying desperately to obtain my measurements once more.

"You can't run for long, Bella! I still have all of your measurements written down! Just let me see how this color looks on you!"

I came to a screeching halt once I reached the kitchen and plowed into something hard. As I was steadying myself, trying not to fall backwards into Alice's foyer, the something hard grunted and placed its hands on either of my arms, effectively halting all of my movements.

"Bella? Where's the fire?"

My heart leapt into my throat as I heard the voice. Didn't Alice say Edward wouldn't be coming tonight because he had papers to grade?

"Hi," I managed to squeak out before Alice came barreling into the kitchen, bumping into me and knocking me further into Edward's arms.

"Alice is trying to make me another Halloween costume!" I blurted out, using Edward as a shield from his sister. Surely he would feel my pain.

"Another one?" he questioned, arching an eyebrow at Alice who was sneaking up behind me with a floral print. She was holding it up to my neck and hairline to check that it went well with my skin.

"Yes, another one," I answered, "She already has me dressed up like We—"

"Oh, look! Dinner is here! Bella, why don't you help me carry everything into the kitchen!"

I shrugged and pulled out of Edward's grasp. I thought I heard him sigh when his arms released me, but pushed the thought from my mind as Alice loaded my arms down with delivery bags.

We were unloading everything onto the counter when Jasper came into the kitchen, Lilly perched on his shoulders with a wide grin on her face.

"Mmm, that smells so good!"

Alice danced across the kitchen and Jasper leaned down so she could kiss him quickly on the cheek. They were truly adorable. I looked away, not wanting to interrupt their simple moment that seemed so intimate. I caught Edward's eye and he grinned at me as he continued unloading take out boxes onto the counter.

"Edward, why don't you stay for dinner?" Jasper suggested, swinging Lilly down off of his shoulders.

"I wish I could, Jasper, but those papers are calling my name. I just stopped by to grab that book back that I let you borrow. One of my students chose music during the Civil War as her paper topic, and I need something to reference."

"Oh, sure. Let me go grab it." Jasper took off down the hallway.

I busied myself with fixing Edward a to-go plate. Alice smiled at me, clearly approving of my gesture. "At least take some food with you. Here, its no trouble."

Edward smiled at me as I loaded his plate with sesame chicken. "Lo mein is my favorite," he informed me.

"Good to know," I smiled, making sure to give him an extra portion.

"So, Bella, what are your plans for Halloween? Would you like to go trick or treating with Lilly and me?"

"That sounds like fun!" I exclaimed and blushed immediately as my thoughts flew to the bags full of candy in my car, "But, I just bought all of my candy to hand out. There is no way I am going to leave it sitting around my house. I would eat it all in about a week."

Edward chuckled and ran a hand through his hair, "Well, alright. Maybe Lilly and I can stop by while we are making our rounds."

"I would like that," I smiled, forgetting that Alice was in the room. She cleared her throat and I turned quickly to see her holding a sheet of tin foil out to me. I blushed again and rushed to cover Edward's dinner.

"Um…here you go."

"Thanks," Edward was still grinning out me, looking at me sideways as he started backing towards the front door. He made it into the foyer just in time to meet Jasper and grab his book before he headed outside.

"Bye ladies, bye Jasper," he called as he shut the door behind him.

My eyes were trained on the door a second too long after Edward closed it behind him.

"_I would like that_," Alice mimicked me.

"Shut up, Alice, and eat your dinner."

We both laughed as we fixed our plates and headed to the table. Jasper was placing Lilly in her booster seat before fixing her a small plate of food.

The next day at school, Lilly arrived with a large bag for me.

"Here Ms. Swan, this is from my mother. She said there are two outfits, one for today and one for tonight."

I stared at the six-year-old as if she had two heads.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Just take it, Ms. Swan!" Lilly laughed, "I promise you'll like it! It was my idea!"

I glanced into the bag warily and smiled when I pulled a white dress out with a red sash.

"You'll look just like Mary Poppins! I even brought you an umbrella!" She thrust a white parasol into my hands. "Now go change!"

She was so much like Alice it was scary. I called to a teacher across the hall to watch my classroom as students continued to arrive.

The dress fit perfectly, as I predicted, and I decided to leave my hair down. Alice even slipped some white heels into my bag, which I frowned at. I had luckily decided to wear red flats that day, and decided to leave them on. What's the fun in dressing up as Mary Poppins if you can't have a little fun?

I skipped most of the way back to my classroom, humming "It's a Jolly Holiday with Mary" to myself.

The school had a small Halloween carnival every year so half of my day was spent outside shuffling my students from activity to activity. Their parents started showing up around an hour before the school day ended, planning to spend the afternoon with their children.

I knew Alice was busy for the afternoon, so I wasn't surprised when Jasper showed up to lead Lilly around the festivities. I was, however, surprised to see Edward tagging along with him. He was wearing dark jeans, a white button up shirt, and a gray suit jacket. His look was completed by a pair of large black rimmed glasses.

"Who are you supposed to be? Peter Parker?"

Edward raised an eyebrow, glancing down at his outfit. "I'm not in costume…"

"Oh! I, um…I just didn't think you wore glasses."

"I don't," he answered quickly.

"…Really?"

I was still eyeing the frames around his eyes and he jumped slightly when he realized what I was focusing on. He tore them from his face and placed them in his jacket pocket.

"Oh, those…Long story."

Lilly had long ago run up to Jasper and pulled him to a game where you threw a fishing line over a short wall and pulled it back with a prize attached to it, leaving Edward and I standing alone in a sea of elementary students.

"No class this afternoon?" I asked.

"I figured I would give them the day off. Its Friday after all, and I figured I didn't want to see some of the costumes my students would wear."

"I'm sure Jessica was heartbroken. She probably had a whole seductress routine thought up."

"Which is exactly why I cancelled class," Edward laughed.

His eyes wandered to my costume for a moment and I busied my hands with smoothing out my skirt.

"One of Alice's creations?"

I rolled my eyes, "Yes. I don't know how she did this last night. She has another one made for me for tonight!"

"Don't tell me," Edward shushed me just as I was planning to spill Alice's handiwork. "She threatened my life if I found out ahead of time. Apparently it would give mine away."

I sighed, "Oh jeez. Okay."

Edward laughed and took my arm to walk through the carnival. "Your hair looks lovely when you leave it down like that, by the way."

I smiled shyly, tucking a curl behind my ear, "Thanks. I'm not sure if this is what Alice had in mind when she put this together, but I didn't want to try and do anything else with it."

"I always had a crush on Mary Poppins."

His comment made me blush and I wasn't sure what to say to him in response. I chose the simple route, smiling up at him as he continued to lead us through the throng of people.

"I always had a thing for Peter Parker."

**EPOV**

"No," I said, crossing my arms over my chest and shaking my head. "Absolutely not."

Alice was holding a pair of forest green tights, her head cocked to the side like a puppy begging for a piece of steak. It was Halloween, and I was preparing to take Lilly trick-or-treating. I was ready for whatever costume Alice was willing to force on me. Except for this.

Lilly was running around the house, hyped up on whatever candy she had left in her system from school. She was wearing a little green dress with white stockings, and her hair was in a bun on top of her head. Her shoes were green with a white puff ball on the toes. Alice had tried getting her to calm down, but Lilly was out of control.

"Lilly Whitlock," Jasper yelled sternly after Lilly skidded past him while he was at his desk, pouring himself into a Civil War book. "If you don't sit still for the next five minutes, there will be no trick-or-treating this year."

Lilly froze, looked around carefully, then sat down in the middle of the room on the floor.  
"It'll make her so happy," Alice said quietly, looking at her through the doorway. "All she's been talking about is how she can't wait to go to Never Land."

"I draw the line at tights." I kept my arms crossed as a harsh gesture.

Alice gave me a pleading look. "Edward, I'm begging you."

I glanced at my niece, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor with her hands in her lap. She bounced around in place, popping her lips. Her fairy wings shook as she moved. She was trying to be quiet for Jasper—she wanted more than anything to go trick-or-treating, and I was the only holdup. I thought about how I would look without tights. Peter Pan was still a boy, therefore his legs were no where near as hairy as mine. I sighed heavily and grabbed the tights from her hands.

"I'm feeding her ice cream tonight," I said, pointing at her with the tights. "Two dips of the most sugary ice cream I can find."

Alice looked horrified, but she stayed silent. I shooed her out of the room and reluctantly changed into the itchy green stockings.

"Alright," I could hear Jasper saying to Lilly. His voice was quiet, gentle, and fatherly. "Your five minutes is up. But no more running around."

"Okay!" She squeaked.

After three minutes, I walked awkwardly into the living room, the tights becoming one with my skin. I crinkled my nose as I smashed the homemade Peter Pan hat onto my head. Lilly lit up when she saw me, clinging to my leg and making me feel even more uncomfortable. To be honest, I felt self-conscious and like someone would see me and cry, "Pedophile!"

"You ready to go, kiddo?" I asked, tugging on Lilly's wing. She looked up at me with her excited eyes.

"Pictures!" Alice shrieked from behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw her running to us clutching her huge professional digital camera to her chest.

"No," I said sternly. "I do not want this Halloween documented."

A flash popped in my eyes. "Too late," she said, smirking the Masen smirk.

"I hate you both," I said, glaring at Jasper, who was chuckling.

"You two be very careful," Jasper said, focusing his attention mainly on Lilly. "Do exactly what Uncle Eddie tells you to do."

"I will!" She promised. She hugged him around the neck, then hugged Alice's legs. "I love you, Mommy!"

"Love you too, sweetie." She looked at me. "No ice cream."

"Ha." I picked Lilly up and put her on my hip. "We'll see you later, Alice."

As we walked out into the clear, chilly night, I could hear Alice yelling behind me. I blocked the noise out, and I could tell Lilly had, too.

Four neighborhoods and two full bags of candy later, we had thirty minutes left to squeeze in any last houses we could think of. We'd hit Emmett and Rosalie, and they gave Lilly tons of candy bars that would no doubt give her the worst sugar high ever. Others had given away cheap candy, like DOTS, and those were thrown into my bag. Fantastic.

"Hey," I said, picking her up and pulling her on my back. "Want to stop by Miss Swan's house?"

"Yes!" She yelled loudly, bouncing up and down happily.

As we pulled down her street, I saw something faintly rolling across the pavement. It came to a halt at the curb, and my tire squished what I realized to be a pumpkin. I shook my head and turned around, helping Lilly out of her car seat. Since I was driving Jasper's truck, I insisted she sit in it since I wasn't quite used to the way his truck drove. I wasn't sure why Alice insisted on me driving his truck. Something about "more bouncing room". I had a feeling that it was because Jasper's truck was a dark green color, which matched our Halloween costumes. My sister was nothing if not practical.

"Miss Bella!" Lilly was opening her door and hopping down from the truck, running straight towards Bella's yard.

"Hi, Lilly!" She called back. That was when I could finally see her. She was dressed in a light blue night gown, and her hair was tied back with a ribbon. At first, I thought that she was ready for bed. I instantly felt horrible for stopping by so late.

I followed Lilly to Bella, feeling the tights pull against the hair on my legs as I walked. I hate this.

* * *

So...thoughts? :)


	12. Firefly From Hell

Sorry for the delay, everyone! This chapter was originally supposed to be longer, but to avoid being repetative, we cut it out so it would flow. However, if you're dying to read what was cut, let us know and we'll post it on the forums!

Without further delay, we bring you chapter twelve!

_`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -  
Only this, and nothing more.'_

* * *

BPOV

Halloween had always been one of my favorite holidays as a child. What kid didn't love a day completely devoted to pretending to be someone else and taking part in an all you can eat candy buffet?

As I sat carving my jack-o-lantern my mind wandered back to my many Halloween memories in Forks. I chose the standard face, not wanting to do anything difficult with my first independently carved pumpkin. Jacob was the one who would always carve elaborate faces out of our pumpkins…I never had the talent or the patience to do anything of the sort.

I frowned at the unwelcome memory of my ex. I had been doing so well lately, but each new obstacle I tackled on my own reminded me of tasks that previously needed Jacobs help as well. Pumpkin carving, not surprisingly, was something he and I had done together every Halloween for the last five years.

We would go the afternoon of Halloween to the pumpkin farm, knowing there would only be a few pumpkins left. I always felt bad for the leftovers, too small or beat up to be considered good enough to be a jack-o-lantern. It reminded me of A Charlie Brown Christmas, when they chose the rattiest tree they could find. So, I always picked the bumpiest and most disfigured pumpkin. Jacob hated it because he wouldn't have a flat surface to work on, but he humored me.

On our last Halloween together, our pumpkin had been cut to look like Davey Jones from the second Pirates movie. Jacob spent the entire afternoon tracing and cutting the design from the face and he even admitted to me that the bumpy gnarled surface of my chosen pumpkin made it look more authentic. We just barely got the pumpkin finished before trick-or-treaters started to arrive.

My weak attempt at a jack-o-lantern paled in comparison to Davey Jones, but I was beaming when I placed it on my front porch regardless. I pulled my camera out and snapped a picture of the front of my home, wanting to send a picture to both Charlie and Renee to show them how well I was doing. They would be encouraging of course, saying the house looked great and that the pumpkin was cute, but neither of them would understand the significance of my own jack-o-lantern.

Later, when twilight had come and children's laughter could be heard echoing down the street, I turned my porch light on and emptied my many bags of candy into a giant bowl. I wasn't sure if many children would come by since I was new in town, but I was prepared nonetheless.

I was lucky to have bought candy in bulk, because once one of my students who lived down the road from me found out where my house was, they screamed for the entire street to hear.

"MS. SWAN! TRICK-OR-TREAT! HEY GUYS! THIS IS WHERE MS. SWAN LIVES! SHE HAS THE _GOOD_ CANDY!"

As soon as the words left the little boy's mouth, a swarm of children made their way to my driveway, parents in tow. I felt for a moment like an impromptu parent/teacher conference had been planned. Each child scooped a handful of candy from my bowl as their parents talked about how much their children loved my class, and double checked on their behavior of course.

The sudden quiet once everyone left my front porch was deafening and it left my ears ringing. I still felt a slight excitement in my chest, letting me know I was waiting for something to happen. What that something was, I wasn't entirely sure. I wracked my brain; trying to remember what I had to look forward to when my eyes landed on two small bags I had prepared earlier in the afternoon and placed on my kitchen counter.

Of course! My heart skipped a beat as I remembered who was supposed to be stopping by tonight. I glanced at the clock as I took a seat at my kitchen table, noticing that it was getting late. Maybe they had forgotten. My heart dropped a bit in my chest as I thought of that possibility.

_Oh stop it_, I told myself. Why was I getting upset about Edward not stopping by? I had basically admitted to Alice the day before that I had thought about dating her brother and I was obviously developing some feelings for him, but was that it? Would a school girl crush leave me feeling like someone just kicked my dog whenever Edward didn't show up or call like he said he would?

I sighed, lifting myself out of my chair and heading to the front porch to blow out the candle in my jack-o-lantern. Waiting for Lilly and Edward to stop by would make me lose my mind checking the clock every few minutes, so I decided to close up shop but still leave the porch light on incase there were any stragglers who wanted candy. Or any good looking and ridiculously charming uncles who wanted to bring their nieces by to see their favorite teacher. You know…just incase.

When I stepped out on my porch, my negativity was getting the best of me and I had convinced myself that Edward had forgotten about our earlier conversation. I looked up and down my street, no signs of any trick-or-treaters left. It amazed me how quickly the storm of children had ended, but a small part of it frustrated me as well.

Looking down at my jack-o-lantern, my earlier pride in my work turned to annoyance. It embraced everything I was trying to forget; heartache, dependency, unfulfilled dreams. But it also encompassed everything I was trying to accomplish here. It showed my independence, carving my own pumpkin for the first time. It showed my quest for happiness, reminding me of my costume I was wearing, fashioned by my first true friend in town. However, at that moment all of the negatives outweighed the positives and before I could stop myself, I blew out the candle and kicked the pumpkin off of my porch.

It got decent air, which I was proud of, and I watched it roll down my front walkway, off of the sidewalk, and into the road where it came to a resting spot right in front of my driveway. I stared at it in shock for a few moments, taking deep breaths and willing my sudden frustration with my life to take a backseat.

My eyes were still trained on the pumpkin when a large truck pulled up, squashing my now beaten and bruised pumpkin under its front tire. My eyes shot up to take a glance at the driver who was now hopping out and making his way to the backseat. He looked to be fussing with a car seat and my traitor heart skipped a beat as I willed myself not to get too excited. I didn't recognize the vehicle, and I knew Edward did not drive a truck.

Only when I heard an excited, "Ms. Swan!" and a delighted squeal did I allow a smile to spread across my face. I wasn't forgotten after all.

"Hi, Lilly!" I couldn't contain the excitement in my voice and I was almost embarrassed if it weren't for the fact that she flew from the truck and up my driveway in less than five seconds, launching herself into my arms.

"Hello, Bella," a smooth voice called from the street, "I hope we're not too late. You're the last stop on our rounds."

"No, you're not too late, Edward," I called back. I almost laughed at myself. Even if it were the middle of the night, I would never tell Edward he was too late.

"Where is your car?" I asked as he pulled Lilly's bag of candy from the passenger seat of the truck.

"Alice wanted me to take Jasper's truck. I have no idea why. Maybe she thought it was safer than the Volvo…I don't ask why she wants me to do these things. I just do them."

I laughed and lead them inside, still unable to hide my smile at the fact that they had actually shown up.

"Ms. Swan! Look at my costume! Isn't it pretty?"

Lilly turned around in my living room, her fairy wings leaving a small trail of glitter on my floor. Her green dress and flats, complete with fairy wings and a wand gave me a hint as to who she was dressed up as, but I asked her anyway.

"I'm Tinkerbelle! Can't you tell?"

"Of course! How could I not have known!"

Lilly giggled and twirled around my living room as I turned to Edward and finally saw his costume.

I stifled a laugh.

His unruly hair was combed down and gelled, a green hat perched on top of his head. His torso was covered in a perfectly fitted green top, complete with a belt, and green pants. But what surprised me the most was the pair of green tights that he wore, down to his brown loafers.

Edward Masen was in my living room, dressed as Peter Pan.

Wait a second… Tights? I glanced back up to his face and took in the slight blush that was coating his cheeks. The giggles that were about to bubble out of my chest were silenced when I saw him shift awkwardly from left to right and grimace.

"You look uncomfortable," I said, my giggle coming through slightly. "I thought you didn't do tights." In my mind I flashed back to the conversation we had earlier where he insisted even Lilly couldn't get him to wear tights.

"I don't," he answered automatically. I raised my eyebrow at him and he sighed.

"Look, she begged me. I can't take the puppy dog eyes."

"Who?" I asked, crossing my arms and grinning at him, "Lilly or Alice?"

Edward scoffed, rolling his eyes as a wide grin spread across his face. "Does it matter? Lilly inherited my mother's compassion and my father's soft side."

We laughed together, both of us looking at Edward's green legs.

And then it clicked…Alice's insistence that I don't tell Edward my costume, her refusal to give me any hint on his or Lilly's, and her fashioning of two costumes for me. She had to have known that Edward would stop by the carnival with Jasper; in fact, she probably planted the idea in his head. Seeing the costume I was wearing now would definitely have given away Alice's theme for the evening.

I took in all three of our costumes, my eyes narrowing as I picked up on Alice's intent. Peter Pan, Tinkerbelle, and Wendy. Didn't Peter and Wendy have a _thing_? Well, until he went back to Never, Never Land. Lilly pulled me from my thoughts with her question.

"Ms. Swan? Who are you supposed to be?"

"Well, I'm Wendy of course!"

"Like from Peter Pan!" Lilly squealed, "Oh, Uncle Eddie! You and Ms. Swan match!"

Edward smiled at me and reached up to finger the ribbon in my hair, "It's a shame Alice is so accurate with her costumes. I would have loved to see your hair down for this one as well."

I blushed and smiled.

Edward returned my smile and my head swam, trying to think of something else to talk about. I latched on to something he had said about his mother and father earlier.

"I've never heard you talk about your parents. Do they live here?"

Lilly danced around us and further into the room, spreading even more glitter before she settled onto the floor in front of my couch and began digging noisily through her bag of candy.

Edward and I followed her, taking a seat on the couch as we watched Lilly search for a certain candy. I wasn't sure what she was looking for, but every time she would pull up a different piece of candy, she would sigh and put it back before digging around again.

"My mother, Esme," Edward began, his eyes on Lilly, "is a wedding planner. She loves seeing other people happy, and the rate of divorce at her weddings are next to zero. I don't know how she does it…" He shook his head lightly, realizing he had gotten slightly off point before continuing.

"My dad works at OU. He's the one that got me the job there, actually. I'd probably be working in a public high school if it weren't for him."

I cringed as I remembered my high school days and imagined having to return to those hallways and classrooms.

"High school was hell for me—I'd never want to teach teenagers. I can barely handle little kids."

"Why was high school so bad for you?" he asked slowly, his eyes now watching his fingers as they nervously picked at a piece of lint on my couch. I could tell he didn't want to push, but he was genuinely curious. The least I could do after he shared about some of his life was to share some of mine. After months of getting to know each other, it was time for me to throw him a bone…even if it was a very, very small one.

I took a deep breath before I began. "I started school late because I moved from Arizona to Forks. I always hurt myself somehow, so people made fun of me. My best friend–" My voice cut off as my chest constricted as I thought of Jacob for the second time that night. How was I going to finish that sentence? My best friend…is a heartless jerk? Broke my heart? Wasted five years of my life?

Edward's curious gaze pulled me from my thoughts and I decided to take the safe route.

"He didn't go to school with me. It was difficult," I answered simply.

"I thought you said Forks was a small town," Edward continued, sill curious. "How many high schools did it have?"

"It only had one. He went to school in the next town over. La Push is an old Indian reservation."

_Short and sweet_, I told myself, _Just keep it short and sweet._

Edward was quiet for a few moments, clearly lost in his thoughts as his eyes shifted back towards Lilly who was now sucking on a Gobstopper.

"So, your best friend," He asked after a minute. "How did you meet him?"

I instantly stiffened and pressed my lips together tightly before I could let anything slip. Short and sweet was impossible after this point. Answering this question would lead to others that I wasn't sure I was able to answer.

_Did you hang out a lot? What did you do when you left for school? Did he go too? What about when you came home, did you see him then?...Do you still talk to him?_

Until I could think about Jacob and everything that happened without kicking a pumpkin off of my front porch, I wouldn't be ready to share it with anyone.

"You're not getting anything else out of me," I said slyly, grinning at Edward as relaxed back into my couch.

He shrugged, acknowledging his defeat, "It's not my fault you're such a mystery."

My eyes met his as he sighed and smiled at me. Unable to help myself, I let my eyes linger on his face, noticing how the green of his costume made his eyes almost glitter as they stood out from the rest of his features.

I noticed his eyes were similarly roaming over my face before they met mine once more and our eyes were locked on each other for a few lengthy seconds.

Our moment ended when Lilly gasped loudly, "Uncle Eddie! You have to give Ms. Swan a kiss! Like in the movie!"

My heart pounded. He had to give me a _what_?

"Beg your pardon?"

EPOV

"Beg your pardon?" She asked quickly.

"Lilly," I said, shifting her so that I could breathe easier. "I believe you're right. I do need to give Miss Swan a Kiss!"

She blinked. "What?"

I dug in the pocket Alice had sewn into the costume. I'd felt the thimble earlier, but I'd thought it was something left over from Alice's sewing materials. I should have realized that the thimble was from the movie _Hook_, and it was meant for me to make a move on Bella. I couldn't find the motivation to ignore the sign. "Close your eyes, Bella," I said as smoothly as I could.

She did. In fact, I could've sworn I saw her lips pucker. Never before had I wanted to kiss her so much. Her beautiful lips, naturally pink and full, were calling to my own. They looked warm and I could imagine how at home I'd feel while kissing them. What was stopping me? Maybe she wouldn't pull away. Maybe, just maybe, she wanted this as bad as I did.

I made my decision in a nanosecond. I began leaning in slightly, and my eyes started to close against my will. I had been waiting for this moment since the first time I'd laid eyes on her. She was so innocent, standing in a schoolyard full of children. She was parental, watching every child as if they were hers. She was beautiful with her mahogany hair flowing in the breeze. And I was about to make her mine.

Until my niece with fifty percent of Alice's DNA in her decided to pluck the thimble from my limp hand and put it in Bella's lap. Her eyes snapped open and she looked down at the piece of metal. I could see the pain and confusion in her eyes. I wanted to take her in my arms and assure her that I wanted to kiss her, but Lilly prevented any action on my part.

"A Kiss!" She said proudly to Bella.

"Oh," Bella said quietly, picking up the candy by the paper ribbon. "Thank you, dear."

"Bella, I—" I began to say, but Bella interrupted me.

"Lilly, how about some candy? I made a bag just for you."

My niece's face lit up and she ran to where Bella was standing. Bella handed her a zip-lock bag full of candy bars and sugar filled candies that would drive my sister crazy. Of course, Lilly's eyes only got bigger as she began opening a Snickers and shoving the contents into her mouth.

I was so busy watching Lilly that I hadn't noticed it when Bella was standing in front of me with a smaller bag sealed with a twist tie. "Happy Halloween," she said quietly, holding it out to me.

I reached out and took it with a smile. I began walking to her small kitchen, and when I untwisted the top, I dumped it onto the marble counter.

"Dots and licorice." I felt my stomach clench uncomfortably as I tried to figure out how I would stomach my two least favorite items of candy. "Bella, you shouldn't have."

She smiled. "I thought you were her favorite?"

From the tone in her voice, I knew she was joking. I laughed and began placing the candy back into the bag, trying not to cringe.

"I'm just kidding, Edward," she said quietly, eying Lilly on the floor with chocolate smeared on her mouth. "I have another bag for you. I'll go get it."

As she began walking away, Lilly shouted, "Oh look, Uncle Eddie! It's your favorite!"

I sat down next to her. "Maybe we should share some of your candy with Miss Swan," I suggested.

"What do you think she likes?"

I rifled through her candy, my fingers moving over Sweet Tarts and Dum-Dums, along with M&Ms and Skittles. "She told me once that her favorites were Dots and Licorice, too." I was in the mood for revenge after her little stunt, anyway.

"Like you!" She said happily. Then, she began two separate piles of the candies. One for me, she'd said, and one for Bella.

I couldn't help but think about how close I'd come to kissing Bella tonight, and how hurt she had looked when Lilly had interrupted. When I looked back on it, I realized it was probably a good thing I didn't kiss her. I still wasn't sure how she felt about me, and I didn't want to push anything on her.

I decided to tell her about Tanya. It was something that I hoped would persuade Bella into telling me about her past.

When Bella came out of her room clutching a bag, she saw the piles of candy designated for her.

"Uncle Eddie told me you like Dots and licorice too, Miss Swan!" She gestured to the candy at her side. "So I made a pile for both of you!"

She forced a smile. "Oh, he did?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Yup! Here you go!" She pushed the pile to Bella's feet. "This one is yours."

She sat down on the floor, folding her legs under her. "Well, thank you Lilly. That's very nice of you to share."

"And Uncle Eddie!" She chimed, giving me a smile.

"Yes," Bella said with a smirk. "It's nice for Uncle Eddie to share, too."

I frowned at her use of my nickname. She only used it when I was being sarcastic to her, and this must have been one of those times. I gave her a look that told her she'd won for my initial joke.

Bella offered us drinks. Lilly voted for juice, and I voted for water. She told Lilly that _The Wizard of Oz _ was on television, and my niece jumped at the opportunity. Bella made a cushion fort for her and assisted her in taking off her wings. It turned out to be more complicated than I thought, but Bella handled Alice's handiwork like a pro.

Once Lilly was comfortably set up in the living room, she joined me in the kitchen. I was sorting through my candy bag like a kid, feeling the excitement when I saw the king sized candy bars. And, because I was a fully grown man, I wasn't at all worried about my mom chastising me about eating my candy all at once. I couldn't wait for the stomach ache that would accompany my candy spree.

"See anything you like?" Bella said suddenly. I jumped and turned around with a guilty look on my face.

"This is like the candy mother load, Bella," I said gravely, indicating a giant Snickers.

She giggled and sat across from me, sipping her tea slowly.

"How was your first Halloween in the Great Plains?" I asked.

"There were so many more children here than there are in Forks," she said happily. "I got rid of nearly all of my candy."

I took a drink of my water. "When we get married, I'll show you what a real Halloween in the Masen household is like."

She nearly choked on her drink. "You really think you'll be alone by the time you're forty?"

"Probably," I mumbled. "I'm already twenty-six. Time is ticking away."

Bella shook her head. "What are you worried about? You're a man. Time never ticks away for you, only for your hairline."

I reflexively reached for my hair, knocking off my Peter Pan hat. "Don't ever say that," I said with a bit of fear. I was horribly afraid of going bald. Even though my father showed no signs of balding at his age, it was something I occasionally worried about.

She patted my head with a smile on her face. "Have you ever thought of who you're going to marry if I'm not available when you're forty?"

"Who would you marry besides me?" I asked.

Bella pretended to think about it. "I could marry that kid in your class you always talk about. Mike? Or, I could marry one of my fellow teachers, Paul."

"Oh, but Bella," I said, giving her my best seductive look. "You know I'm the best for you."

"I've heard that before," she said quietly, her eyes landing on her tea cup.

"Bella," I said slowly. She looked up at me. "Have I ever mentioned Tanya?"

She furrowed her brow. "Um, I don't think so." She bit her lip, then asked, "Who's Tanya?"

I leaned forward with my arms on the counter. "Tanya Denali was, for all intents and purposes, my fiancée. We weren't officially engaged, but everyone thought of us that way."

"So there was someone else before me?" She asked playfully, but I could see the nervousness in her expression.

"Like I said, I never proposed. You're the first, Bella." She laughed at my joke, and I traced patterns on the counter with my index finger. "She was my first serious relationship. We met during an intense cram session in college. She was everything I needed in a woman at the time."

"Why do I need to know this?" She demanded suddenly. "I mean," she amended, "you don't have to tell me this if you don't want to, Edward."

I shook my head. "It's something you should know if we do get married," I said somewhat seriously. "I don't ever really talk about it…not even to my sister."

"Oh God, Edward," she said, dropping her head into her hands. "I didn't mean to sound so critical. I'm sorry, I should have taken it more seriously."

"Bella," I said, reaching for her hand across the counter. She jumped at the contact, but I didn't move my hand from hers. "It's fine. I don't blame you for not wanting to know."

She sighed. "I do want to know. Please continue."

I reluctantly moved my hand away from hers and grasped my drink. "We were majoring in the same thing. We were aiming for the same job. She got a great job out of state. I stayed at OU. We sat in a coffee shop one afternoon and she decided that we were too different to stay together. It was the most painful experience of my life, actually," I said with a forced laugh.

"How did you survive?" She asked like she wanted advice, not just an answer.

"I dove into my work. I focused on my family. Tanya didn't understand my connection to my family. Her sisters lived far away—one in California, the other in Michigan. She never fit in with my family." I thought back to her first introduction to Lilly. Lilly was fingerpainting that day, and accidentally hugged Tanya with red fingers, ruining her favorite white blouse. Tanya never let Lilly touch her again.

"I admire you for being so close with your family," Bella commented. "The connection you have with your sister is wonderful."

I nodded. "Alice and I are practically twins, despite the age difference. She has everything. A marriage, a child…a happy life."

"Oh, Edward," she said. "When you turn forty, I'll marry you! I don't know about children, but I'll do my best."

"So, are you really wearing black to our wedding?" I asked her, trying to lighten the mood.

She shrugged. "I might wear a white dress with a lot of black detail. But I won't be in mourning."

"That's a good thing; I'd hate to explain to my mother why you chose black. She'd probably have doubts about me getting married if I told her that."

She held her tea to her lips and took a small sip. "I'd like to go to Italy for our honeymoon."

I laughed at her seriousness, capturing her eyes with mine. Bella was such an extraordinary creature. Her light blue nightgown flowed around her gracefully, subtly hiding her curves but accentuating her innocence. Her rich, brown hair was pulled back with a matching blue bow which no doubt took her a while to tie. When she laughed, I felt as if I'd accomplished a huge goal in my day. Bella was so shy and hesitant around me, almost as if she thought I was going to run away screaming.

Maybe that was why she didn't want to tell me anything about why she moved away from Forks. Whoever she ran from probably judged her too harshly, and she was afraid of the same treatment.

I looked over at Bella and saw her staring off in the distance at Lilly's Halloween bag. It was black with a nice, shiny orange pumpkin.

_Pumpkin._

"Hey, Bella," I said casually. She looked up at me through her long, thick eyelashes. "Was that your pumpkin I hit earlier? You don't have a pumpkin on your porch…" I trailed off when I noticed her looking especially uncomfortable.

She lifted her cup to her lips and took the biggest gulp yet; I watched the lump in her throat move up and down.

"Yes," she said carefully, looking anywhere but at me. "It was my pumpkin."

"And?" I pressed.

Bella sucked in air through gritted teeth. "Let's just say that the ghosts of Halloween past paid me an unwelcomed visit, and they didn't bring any good memories."

It clicked. "About the guy that left you." I didn't need confirmation.

"Well, technically, I left him." She twisted the ends of her hair. "We just…we had some silly traditions around this time of year. I came here to get away from him, yet I keep up with old habits. It's upsetting that he's still, in some ways, controlling my life."

Her mouth was open like she wanted to say more, but she clamped her lips shut suddenly.

"You moved across the country to get away from an ex," I said, clarifying. "Why? Did he hurt you? Bella." I felt like tearing him apart. "Did he touch you?"

She was shaking her head before I was finished with my sentence. "Edward, it was nothing like that. Jake—" She cut off quickly, gasping lightly. Before I could comfort her, she continued. "He was never physical with me. Not since my senior year when we were playing a game of touch football with his friends. That's when he tackled me and I ended up breaking a small bone in my wrist. But that was an accident, a simple mistake." She held her right wrist close to her body. Then, she looked at me with pleading eyes. "I promise, Edward, that I'll tell you everything about him…but not today. Please, just not today."

I suddenly felt horrible. All this time, I'd been pushing her to tell me more about her Jake, and I didn't even realize how bad I'd been hurting her. I looked around quickly for something to slam my head against, but found nothing that would do enough damage to my thick skull.

"I'm sorry, Bella," I mumbled, looking down at my clasped hands. "I shouldn't have been so insensitive…" I trailed off when I felt my phone vibrate in my left pocket. I pulled it out and saw the screen: _Mom & Dad._

"Hello?" I answered.

"Edward." My father's wise voice sounded strained. I couldn't imagine why. Just hearing his voice for a fraction of a second caused my stomach to clench and my heart rate to increase. "Son, your mother is in the hospital."

_What?_ My mind raced to the last time I'd seen my mother. It was the previous weekend at the biweekly family dinner. She'd talked nonstop about the wedding she was involved in, and how detailed it was meant to be. She sounded so excited, but my father had seemed worried about her exhausting herself.

"What happened?" I said through clenched teeth.

I heard him exhale into the phone. "Nothing life-threatening. I'll tell you more when you get here. Do you have Lil with you?"

"Yes." I looked over at my niece, who was totally engrossed with the television. "We're visiting her teacher."

"Can you leave her there? Her being so young…I think it would panic her if she saw her grandmother in the hospital."

Bella was sitting in front of me, her head cocked to the side and her eyes wide. _What's wrong?_ She mouthed to me. I held up a finger. "I'm sure she'll be fine with it," I said into the phone.

"Very good, Edward," he said. "Now, son, I don't want you to worry. I'm only calling you because I know Esme would want you here. So, please don't get a speeding ticket on your way."

I had to chuckle. "I won't. I'll be there."

We hung up, and I leaned across the counter so I could talk to Bella quietly. "Bella," I said in a hushed whisper. "I'm afraid I have to leave Lilly with you for maybe an hour or two. My mother is in the hospital."

"Oh, Edward!" She said, clutching her chest. "Is she okay?"

I inhaled deeply, then released it. "I think so. I'm the oldest child, and my father knows I feel like I have a duty to protect my mom. I think that's why he wants me there."

She nodded gravely. "I'll keep Lilly until you get back. Are you sure you don't…" She trailed off. "I mean, do you need me?"

I grabbed her hand from across the counter. Her skin was satin smooth, and her hand was warm from the hot tea cup.

"Bella, from here on out, I will always need you."

* * *

Hopefully, we'll have thirteen up and ready to go when this is validated. We appreciate your patience and support!

PS: Extra points to whoever can figure out what movie is mentioned indirectly in this chapter!


	13. Chapter 13

Hey y'all! I hope this update was quick enough for you :) We tried to bust this chapter out pretty quick! Check out the A/N at the end of the chapter for a nice surprise!

Thanks to Admittedly Obsessed for being an amazing validation beta :)

There is a little bit of skipping around in POVs, but bear with us. It's worth it :)

* * *

**BPOV**

After I made sure that Edward made it to the truck safely, I softly closed the door behind me and leaned against it. I closed my eyes and said a quick prayer for Esme, hoping that it was not an emergency that caused Edward to leave so quickly; only the fact that he is an overprotective and very loving son.

I sighed, still worried despite my optimistic thoughts, and went into the living room to sit with Lilly. She had fallen asleep on the small pallet I made and I smiled at her peaceful form. Glitter from her costume covered her entire body, and I could only imagine how many baths it would take to completely remove it all. It amazed me that clean, prissy Alice would allow so much glitter in one outfit, but I figured she had her reasons.

The child could not be comfortable, so I shook her lightly to wake her up. "Lilly? Wake up, dear."

Her eyes opened slowly and she looked slightly confused before recognition dawned on her face. "Hey, Ms. Swan. Where is Uncle Eddie? Did I fall asleep?"

"Uncle Eddie had to go somewhere really quickly. How would you like to stay the night here with me? We can make a fort to sleep in and finish watching the movie."

Lilly's eyes widened and she smiled, "That sounds like fun!"

"First thing's first...let's give you a bath, and then I'll find some pajamas for you. How does that sound?"

"Okay!" She clapped her hands excitedly and jumped up from the floor, sending glitter flying in all directions. I sighed to myself and lead her down the hallway to my bathroom. While her bath water was running she told me all about the different placed Edward had taken her to trick or treat. Her favorite house gave her two real bags of peanut M&Ms and her least favorite gave her an apple and dental floss. Seriously, who does that?

With a few inches of water in the tub, I left Lilly to quickly find an old t-shirt she could use for pajamas. As soon as I found one small enough that it wouldn't swallow her whole, I decided to call Alice and let her know that Lilly was staying with me for the night.

Just as I finished my short conversation with Alice's voicemail, Lilly called to me from the bathroom.

"Ms. Swan! I'm finished!"

I handed her a towel as she hopped out of the tub and dried her off quickly before throwing the t-shirt on over her head.

"Alright, Lilly, how about we make that fort?"

She squealed with delight and ran down the hallway towards the living room once again.

Apparently this six-year-old was a master at creating forts--I guessed that Uncle Eddie had a hand in that--so the fort building actually consisted of me moving furniture around while Lilly stood on the couch and directed me before throwing blankets over everything.

By the time the fort was completed, my entire living room was rearranged, and we had managed to not only get the coffee table, but also the TV covered in our mini-world as well. Lilly had her bag of candy and a glass of water, so as far as she was concerned, she did not have to move for the rest of the night.

The mountain of blankets on the floor served as an excellent mattress as Lilly and I settled down to finish The Wizard of Oz. She was asleep in no time, but I left the TV on to provide some light in the small space.

I finally allowed my mind to slow down enough to think about Edward and all he had told me earlier in the night. He opened up to me about Tanya, a name I had not heard before tonight, and I had to fight back the small flash of jealousy that someone had actually experienced what it was like to be in love with Edward Masen.

Who was I to be jealous of a woman I did not know? Especially for that ridiculous reason. Part of me was glad to admit that I was feeling something toward Edward. The other part was not as enthusiastic. I couldn't even talk to him about Jacob, and I made up my mind in that second that until I could talk to him about Jacob without crying, closing up, or getting angry, it wouldn't be fair to feel the things I was feeling.

Edward had easily become my best friend since I had moved, and even though his actions threw me for a loop and left me utterly confused most of the time, I truly enjoyed spending time with him. I was terrified to mess things up.

I rolled my eyes, already hearing what Angela would say to me if she could read my mind right now.

_"How many more excuses are you going to make, Bella? First, he's related to one of your students. Next, he is too good for you. Now, he's too good of a friend. Make up your mind and do something about it before it is too late!"_

I adored my best friend, but sometimes she could be a major pain when it came to my love life.

Or lack thereof…

And what exactly did he mean when he said he would "always need me"? It was flattering, yes. And I'm not ashamed to admit that my heart skipped a beat or two. But what did that mean? My heart stalled once again as I remembered the look in his eyes when he said those words and how I'd thrown my arms around his neck, overcome with worry for his mother I had never met, and a strange new feeling for the man in front of me.

The way his arms fit around me made me want to hug him for hours on end. My body almost hungered for contact with his, and I couldn't remember the last time I had been held so close and felt so complete.

What was I getting myself into? I couldn't decide whether to hold my head in my hands and give up completely, or slap myself to jump into action. I could make all of the excuses I wanted, but the truth of the matter was that I was on my way to falling for Edward Masen. I just wasn't sure if I wanted to put myself back out there or not, and I wasn't sure how much more my poor heart could handle.

I was pulled from my thoughts as I felt Lilly stirring beside me. The end credits of The Wizard of Oz were playing and the music must have woken her up.

"Ms. Swan?" she asked tiredly.

"Hey there, sleepyhead. Are you ready to go to bed?"

She shook her head quickly, fighting a yawn. "No, I'm not tired. Let's watch another movie."

I had to smile at her as she tried to convince me she was not exhausted. She picked The Princess Diaries from my small movie collection and I quickly put it in. It was one of my favorites, though there weren't many people that I would actually admit that to.

Only fifteen minutes into the movie, Lilly was asleep again. I was fighting a few yawns myself and decided to get up and clean the kitchen before I headed to bed. The two stacks of Dots and Licorice were still on the table and I couldn't hide my smile as I pulled out two Ziploc bags and stored the candy. I quickly cleaned up the rest of the candy around the house and stacked it all neatly on the counter for Edward to take with him the next time I saw him. I knew Alice would not let Lilly take home two giant bags of candy.

Once I was satisfied with the state of my kitchen I crawled back into the fort and pulled a few pillows down to make a bed. Lilly was fast asleep but I left the movie on just incase she woke up in the middle of the night and didn't know where she was.

My mind started to race again as soon as my head hit the pillow and I found myself only able to relax when I imagined my "future" with Edward, fifteen years down the road.

I imagined a beautiful house with a large back yard, maybe somewhere in the mountains or on a lake, the scenery changing behind my eyelids with every second as I changed my mind.

Both of the kids had my hair—the boy's was as unruly as his father's—and they shared Edward's eyes and smile. Edward would love the backyard, playing with our kids and our new puppy as I prepared steaks for him to put on the grill.

I wouldn't mind staying inside because I could watch my family enjoying themselves and each other. Of course the dinner would be perfect; Edward would know just how I liked my steak grilled, the kids would tell jokes and talk about what they learned in school that day, and we would sit and laugh until night fell and it was time for baths and bed time stories.

And then Edward and I would have time to ourselves, sitting together on the couch with a glass of wine and enjoying our stolen moment with whispers and soft kisses.

The image seemed so perfect in my mind that I found myself sighing as I finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

I felt like I had been asleep only 15 minutes when I heard my cell phone chirping across the room. I groaned and crawled out from the wall of blankets Lilly and I had constructed. I was surprised to see a little bit of sun peeking through the windows and I rubbed my eyes to get the sleep out before making my way over to my purse, which was singing to me again as my cell phone continued to ring once more.

"H'lo?" I asked groggily.

"Hey, Bella! It's Alice. I just wanted to call and let you know that I'm on my way to pick Lilly up. Edward called and left me a message last night, but I didn't get it until this morning. I assumed Lilly was staying with him, so I was halfway to his house when I finally got the message. Anyway, I'm on my way so I will see you in a few!"

She spoke so quickly I barely understood her, and couldn't get a quick "Okay, bye!" in before she hung up.

Glancing around at my living room, I sighed as I thought about how much work it would take to get everything back in order. _No time like the present,_ I thought, crawling inside once again to wake Lilly up before I tore the fort down.

"Lilly," I said softly, rubbing her shoulder gently, "Mommy's on her way over. Let's get you up and dressed."

She sighed and rolled over, looking up at me through tired eyes. I had to smile at how precious she looked and motherly instincts I didn't know I had kicked in.

"Come on, I'll let you sleep in my bed until Mommy gets here, how's that?" I asked, picking her up and cradling her sleepy head on my shoulder. I grabbed a blanket from the top of the fort on the way to my room and laid her on my bed. She was back asleep before her head even hit the pillow and I smoothed her dark hair away from her face, watching as she slept so peacefully. There were no signs of the overexcited fairy from the night before aside from a few specs of glitter still stuck to her hair.

I had just completed my mountain of folded blankets when a quick knock at my door lead me to Alice. She looked the most relaxed I had seen her in a while, and certainly well loved.

Her cheeks and chin were tinted red, looking as if they had received a lot of attention from Jasper's scruff the previous night after all of the trick-or-treaters had gone to bed.

"Well hello, Alice. Have a good night last night?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

She only allowed herself to blush for a second before rolling her eyes and stepping inside. "Hey, Bella. Yes, I did have a great night. Thanks for asking…"

Her voice trailed off as she took in the state of my living room.

"What happened in here?" She asked, motioning to the furniture that was all currently placed in the middle of the room in no particular order.

"Um…we built a fort?" I said cautiously, wondering if it would get Lilly in trouble or not.

"Oh fun!" Alice said breezily, still surveying the damage. Leaving out the candy intake and movie watching had probably been a good idea on my part. "Where is Lilly?"

"She's asleep on my bed. I put her there so I could start cleaning up."

"Well let's give her a few more minutes and have ourselves some girl talk. How did you like your costume?"

The mention of the costume reminded me of Alice's scheming the day before and I narrowed my eyes at her, "Just what are you trying to pull, Alice Whitlock? Wendy and Peter Pan? Honestly."

She had the nerve to look innocent. "What about it?"

"You know good and well what I'm talking about. Lilly made him give me a kiss because we matched." Why not play with her a little bit? She was asking for it.

"He _kissed_ you?" Her face lit up with a strange combination of excitement and shock and she started bouncing in her seat.

"No, Alice," I sighed, picking the thimble up off of my counter as I walked into the kitchen, "He _gave_ me a kiss. Just what did you think was going to happen when he shows up here like Peter Pan? Are you _trying_ to make me feel awkward? Or are you really just that insistent on setting us up?"

I felt bad for a moment as her face fell, but that feeling quickly flew out the window as soon as she started speaking again.

"I'm just trying to help the two of you along, Bella. Everyone can see it!"

"Well stop, Alice…please. I know you are just trying to help, but I just can't take it right now. I'm not ready." I put my head in my hands and leaned against the counter.

Her voice softened as she placed a hand on my shoulder, "What's holding you back, Bella? Don't you want to be happy again?"

"Yes! I do!" I almost screeched in desperation and frustration, quieting my voice quickly as I remembered Lilly in the other room. "I do want to be happy again, and I'm trying, but there is a lot I need to work out before I can take that step, Alice. Just trust me here. I can't tell you now, but I will soon, I promise."

That seemed to appease her for the time being and she took off in search of Lilly, leaving me to hide from the thoughts swirling around in my head. Their presence distracted me for a little while longer, but as soon as they were out the door and I had no more distractions, I was assaulted with memories of the night before.

I couldn't figure out whether I should be upset with Alice or not. She was pushing me, yes, but her pushing lead me to a great conversation with Edward. I got to know him a lot better than I had before, finally talking about the rest of his family and even learning a little about his past relationships. I automatically felt a flash of guilt as I remembered the slight amount I had let slip about Jacob. I owed it to Edward to give him some information, but I couldn't bring myself to open up just yet. I'd already fallen apart in front of Edward once before because of Jake, and I wasn't looking to do it again any time soon.

After looking around my disaster of a living room once more, I decided to sleep for another hour or so before cleaning everything up. Alice woke me up way too early for a weekend, and I was looking forward to a few more precious hours of sleep before starting my day.

I left my cell phone by my bed, checking to make sure I hadn't heard from Edward yet, and curled up under the covers.

I slept so soundly that my mind didn't have time to float back towards my alternate reality of life with Edward before the sun was shining through my window and waking me up once again. Sighing, I lifted myself off of the bed. I felt much more rested and willing to start the day, so I shuffled into the shower, my mind wandering to which piece of furniture I should try and move first once I decided to tackle the mess downstairs.

I was wasting time under the stream of hot water when I heard a loud knock from the front door. Rushing to make myself presentable, and thinking it might be Alice to come pick up Lilly's wings which I had noticed still sitting on the floor in my living room, I threw on a bathrobe and ran a comb through my hair.

The knock sounded again and startled me as I was jogging to the front door, making me jump and slip on the wood floor where my soaking wet hair had dripped. I caught myself on the side table near the front door and winced when it slammed against the wall.

"Coming!" I called, gripping the top of my robe closed as a deep masculine laugh reached my ears through the door.

I pulled the door open and froze in place, gripping my robe even tighter as I saw who stood on the other side of the door.

That was definitely _not_ Alice.

**EPOV**

My mother was a strong, stubborn woman that didn't understand the concept of exhaustion. During my childhood, she ran around with us kids, always playing with us at the park instead of being the mother sitting on the bench watching. She was hands-on, and very involved. When I lost my first tooth, she dressed up as the tooth fairy and woke me up to prove that she really did exist. I made five dollars that night, and from then on, every tooth I lost brought me closer to being rich.

Alice was sixteen when my parents decided to let her go on her first date. I started dating when I was too young to even know the context of the word, but I was the oldest, and I got away with more than Alice. For instance, on my first real date, my mother did not take pictures and run around trying to make sure the house was presentable for the guest.

When Alice walked down the stairs of our home wearing a designer outfit, our mother began snapping millions of pictures and fluffing her then shoulder length hair. My father and I stood with our arms crossed as Alec walked inside, looking intimidated. Mom stayed up late that night waiting for Alice to get home, and then she listened to her only daughter's details of the short date. Alec, Alice decided, was not The One.

When Alice told our parents she was pregnant, our mother put her business on hold and began putting together the nursery. She spent months making sure it was perfect. Esme researched the most soothing colors, opting for the calming color schemes of light green and dark brown with hints of pink. She made sure to buy classical CDs, such as Beethoven and Debussy. When Lilly was born, our mother hadn't slept in two days.

Now, my mother was lying in a hospital bed with an IV hooked to her arm, looking as if she wanted to get out of the bed and start decorating the room. She was still radiant as ever, her eyes full of compassion. Her caramel colored hair was splayed around her like a halo. My own hair was just a shade darker and redder than my mother's. Carlisle was by her side, holding her hand in his. He looked tired, still dressed in charcoal slacks and a silver shirt with a sweater vest. When I stepped into the room, he looked up at me and smiled.

"Edward." My mother's voice was, as always, full of life and happiness. "How lovely to see you." She turned to Carlisle and frowned. "You scared our son, didn't you?"

He smiled. "Of course not, dear. Edward was simply in the neighborhood and had one of his feelings."

"I was never the one with the feelings," I pointed out, sitting on the side of the bed. Thankfully, I had stopped by my house to change into a pair of jeans and an old concert tee, so the tights were no longer assaulting my legs. "That was Alice."

"Did you tell Alice, too?" Esme asked Carlisle accusingly. "Are all of my children going to flock to the hospital?"

Again, Carlisle smiled. "No, darling. Alice's cell phone is off. So is Jasper's, for that matter."

I shivered at the possibilities of why my sister had gone incognito. "Lilly is staying at a friend's house."

"Her teacher," my mother guessed correctly. "Miss Swan? Edward, I've heard so much about this young woman. Why haven't you brought her to a family dinner? I would simply love to meet her."

"Wait," I said, shaking my head. "Why have you heard about her? What has Alice been saying?"

Esme smiled. "Just that she's your soul mate. Your destiny. Your first and true love. The woman of your dreams."

"Esme," Carlisle scolded softly. Even he couldn't hide the large grin. "Enough."

I dropped my head into my hands. Images of Bella blushing when I left her house flooded my mind. I'd grabbed her hand and promised her that I'd always need her, and the familiar red color had invaded her cheeks. She followed me to Jasper's truck and hugged me tighter than ever.

"You will call me the second you find out what happened," Bella had said. She was still clutching me, her face buried in my neck.

"Are you kidding?" I asked, slowly snaking my arms around her waist. It was the closet contact I'd ever had with Bella, and I was a bit cautious. However, she kept her arms tight around my neck, so I hoped she wouldn't slap me for my actions. "I'd take you with me if it weren't for Lilly."

I couldn't get through to Alice or Jasper after I left Bella's house, but I wasn't worried; it was the first night they'd had to themselves in a while, and I didn't want to think about why the phones were being ignored.

"What happened, Mom?" I asked, dissolving my previous thoughts.

She waved a perfectly manicured hand in front of her face, as if to brush off my question. "It was nothing. Your father overreacted."

Carlisle rolled his eyes. "Esme, my love, you fainted in the produce aisle. I didn't overreact."

"You fainted in produce?" I asked, my voice jumping an octave.

My mother shot me a pointed look. "Like I said, it was nothing. I had been busy running around town. I went into the city for a few things, and I was on my way home when I remembered it was Halloween. I needed candy for the kids. I was in produce looking for some peppers so I could make dinner tonight. It was awfully hot in that store," she concluded.

I looked down at her pale arms, one of which had a needle and a tube sticking out from it. Dad saw where I was looking and said, "She's dehydrated too, apparently."

There was a moment of silence between the three of us, until my mom said, "Darling, why are you wearing tights?"

I scoffed. "You should know. She's _your_ daughter."

We spent the next hour talking about Lilly's Halloween and her progress in the first grade. My mom couldn't wait for Grandparents Day at her school, which took place right before Thanksgiving. The topic of conversation turned to my relationship with Bella. My father looked at me sympathetically before getting up to check my mother's chart. He stifled a chuckle the entire time.

"Why haven't we met her? You know there's a family dinner at least every other week. Even Emmett and Rosalie show up, Edward."

I ran a hand through my hair and shrugged. "It's a delicate matter, Mom."

"How so?"

"Bella…" I trailed off, wondering how to finish my thought. "She moved here from Washington. She's nowhere near home, and I'm pretty sure she just got out of a serious relationship. I don't think she's ready to move on."

Carlisle decided to interrupt, thankfully. "Esme, darling, you should get some rest. Son, do you plan on staying here or going home?"

"I'd like to stay and make sure Mom is okay," I said, grabbing my mom's pale hand.

She sighed. "I'm fine."

"Sleep," my father said, stepping over to her and touching her face lovingly. The passion that flowed between my parents was incredible. I dreamed of having a relationship like theirs eventually.

"Yes, dear," she said, smiling up at him. She closed her eyes, a smirk still on her face.

* * *

After waking up extremely stiff and sore from sleeping in the hospital chair, I ran home to change (finally, I was without tights. Oh, jeans, I missed you) and then drove to Bella's house. It was just after eleven in the morning, and I was thankful that Halloween had been a Friday night this year. It was slightly cool outside, so I wore jeans and a dark gray hoodie. My hair was, as usual, a mess. I could barely move.

I jogged up to her door and knocked a few times. Her car was in the driveway, but no one answered the door. After a minute, I knocked again. Then, I heard a banging noise on the other end of the door, followed by, "Coming!"

Laughing, I backed away from the door and waited. Twenty seconds later, the door swung open revealing Bella in a cotton bathrobe with wet hair dangling around her shoulders. I felt the blood rush out of my head as I processed her appearance. Her cheeks were flushed from the hot water of her shower, and her legs were still glistening with water. Her bathrobe was a mint green color that made her skin look even creamier. It was all I could do not to take her into my arms and kiss her.

When she saw me, her blush intensified. "Oh my God," she mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest protectively. "I didn't know you were coming by."

Instantly, I felt horrible. "I'm so sorry, I should have called."

She shook her head quickly. "No, it's fine. Please, come right in. Just…give me a minute." She held the door open for me with one arm, keeping the other placed securely in front of her chest.

Her house smelled like steam. Her living room was arranged oddly, blankets strewn across every surface as if she'd built a fort.

A minute later, Bella emerged from her bedroom wearing a pair of jeans and a blue flannel button down shirt with a white tank top underneath. Her hair was still dripping wet. She took a look at me, then at the living room floor. She shrugged sheepishly. "Lilly wanted a fort, so we built a fort."

I laughed, and so did she. Then, we looked at each other. She was beautiful like this—natural. I wouldn't have minded to see her like this all the time.

"How's your mother?" She asked, interrupting my thoughts.

Instinctively, I rubbed my neck. It was tight from the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements. "She passed out from exhaustion and dehydration. They released her this morning. She's under strict orders not to overexert herself this weekend. My dad's pumping water down her throat every five minutes." I smiled at the memory of helping my mom into the house earlier in the morning with my dad behind me, carrying a twenty pack of bottled water.

Bella leaned towards me, touching my chest with her hand. "That's great, Edward. I was really worried."

I could feel her warmth through my hoodie. I inhaled deeply, smelling her strawberry shampoo in the air. "So, did Alice pick up Lilly?"

"At about seven," Bella commented. "But, I was so tired, I went back to sleep after she left. I only woke up an hour ago," she finished sheepishly. "How long have you been awake?"

"Six or seven. It's hard to sleep in hospitals. My dad woke me up early. He negotiated for my mom's early release."

"That's great." Bella put her hands in her pockets and looked down at the floor. I stared at the ceiling for a moment.

I cleared my throat. "Thank you for watching Lilly last night. I didn't want her to panic."

"Oh, it was a joy," she said quickly. "We made a fort in my living room and watched _The Princess Diaries_ after _The Wizard of Oz_ was over. We had ourselves a great girls night in."

"Did you talk to my sister this morning about where she was last night?" I asked curiously. Not even my parents could get a hold of Alice, and I was a bit frustrated. How could they both ignore their phones? What if something had gone incredibly wrong with their own daughter?

Bella blushed. "She didn't really say much. Just that she and Jasper had a romantic evening, but…" She trailed off, biting her lip in the most adorable way. "Her chin and lips were sort of red."

"Meaning…?" I furrowed my brows.

She sighed. "I think it was beard burn. I'm trying not to guess why they were unreachable last night."

I shivered. Unwanted images of my sister and brother in-law threatened to break through my guarded brain. "Point taken. Hey, I actually have a question for you."

"Okay," she said curiously. She sat down on her couch and began combing her hair.

I sat on the other end of the sofa. "My mom's been asking about you. She told me I should invite you to a family dinner. Would you like to go?"

Her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes widened. I panicked. The invitation was too forward. I had pushed things too far, finally. She was preparing to run away like a startled fawn. I closed my eyes and sighed in defeat.

"Won't that be awkward?" She said, breaking the awkward silence. "I mean...it's already weird that I'm such good friends with my student's uncle and mother and father."

I shrugged. "Don't think of us as your student's family. Think of us as your really good friends."

She laughed. "I suppose I could swing by. When is this family dinner?"

"Well, permitting that my dad is alright with cooking and my mother is feeling better, tomorrow."

Her eyebrows shot up. "That's not much time to prepare."

"Prepare for what?"

She chuckled loudly. "Prepare for meeting my future in-laws, Edward! Now, make yourself useful and help me put all of this furniture back!"

**BPOV**

The second Edward's car pulled out of my driveway, I had Alice on the phone.

"Hey, Bella! What's up?"

"Alice," I said warningly, "Were you aware that Edward was coming over here earlier?"

"Why? Did he stop by?"

I sighed, "Yes, Alice. He did. Did you know he was coming when you came by this morning?"

"No, I haven't talked to him all day. What's wrong?"

"Aside from the fact that I answered the door in nothing more than my bathrobe?"

Alice tried to hold back a giggle, but she was unsuccessful. "Oh, Bella. I'm sorry. If I had known he was going to stop by I would have said something about it this morning. Honest."

"Yeah, just like you would tell me if we had coordinated costumes?"

She was silent for a moment, probably stunned by my sarcasm, but I didn't allow myself to feel bad. She had been far from innocent every other time an awkward situation with Edward occurred, so it was only natural to question her about this one too.

"What's really bothering you, Bella?"

"Edward invited me to family dinner tomorrow night."

"Is that it?" I could hear a slight .laugh in Alice's voice again.

"Yes. No… I don't know," I answered quickly. Truthfully, I didn't know what this meant. Was this my friend wanting to introduce me to the rest of his family? Or a man inviting me to meet his parents? Two very different possibilities and after my realization the night before, I wasn't sure which one I wanted to be true.

"Well which is it?" Alice asked patiently.

"Can you come over later? Please? You can bring Lilly if you want. I just need some help picking out an outfit and some advice on meeting the rest of your family."

"Sure! Jasper is going to hang out with Edward tonight anyway. They haven't had one of their dates in a while, so they are heading out around 5. Want me to come over then?"

I sighed in relief, "That would be great, Alice. Thank you so much."

"No problem. I'll pick up some dinner on the way over. See you in a little while!"

The time waiting for Alice to come over was spent standing in front of my closet, going through all of my nicer shirts and pants. Everything I pulled out screamed "old teacher" and I frowned at my professional wardrobe.

I didn't want to look like a stuffy first grade teacher with my hair pulled back in a bun the first time I met his parents. The image circling my mind was one of Sarah Jessica Parker in The Family Stone, extremely uptight and professional. Definitely not a great first impression.

But I didn't want to appear too relaxed either. Low-cut shirts, not that I had very many, were definitely a no go. And any skirt I had was either pencil cut or something I had left over from high school that I was pretty sure I would never wear again.

By the time Alice showed up, I had picked through my entire wardrobe and found absolutely nothing I found suitable. I was thankful for the distraction as I heard the doorbell ring.

"Thank goodness! I was going crazy!" I said as I opened the door.

There stood Alice, Lilly on one arm and a bag full of take-out on the other. I grabbed the food from her and held the door open further so she could come inside.

"Hi, Ms. Swan!" Lilly said as her mother carried her into the kitchen.

"Lilly! It's been so long since I've seen you! How are you?" I asked, feeling silly and lighthearted now that I had company.

"I just saw you this morning!" Lilly said, laughing at my apparent forgetfulness.

I gasped in mock surprise, "You're right! I did. How silly of me."

Lilly continued to laugh as Alice sat her down at the table.

"What did you two do today?" I asked, pulling plates out of the cabinet.

"After we left here we went to see Nana, and then we went home."

I assumed "Nana" was Esme and I smiled. "That's great. How is she doing?"

"PopPop won't let her do anything," Lilly continued, "She keeps fussing at him to leave her alone."

"Nana just doesn't know when to rest," Alice said to her daughter.

"We made cookies. And PopPop took me outside on the swing."

"That sounds like a lot of fun."

"Carlisle spoils her," Alice provided as we started spooning food onto our plates, each of us making sure Lilly had some of everything on her plate as well.

Lilly finished eating first and I set up a movie for her in the living room while Alice and I finished our dinner.

"So, mind telling me why you are so worked up about coming to dinner tomorrow?"

I sighed, pushing my food around my plate. "I'm having a hard time figuring everything out right now, Alice. I'm still trying to get over everything I left at home, and now I'm trying to understand everything that is happening with Edward, and I just don't know how to take it."

"How to take what?"

"The fact that he invited me at all. What does it mean? Did your mother just pressure him into inviting me? Or does he really want me there?"

"I think it is safe to say that Edward wants you there, though I'm pretty sure mom could force him into almost anything."

"What makes you think he wants me there?"

Alice rolled her eyes, "Oh, just that he talks about you all the time…that might have something to do with it."

"He talks about me?" My heart jumped at the thought and my hands started shaking.

"Every time he comes over he asks about you; when you and I last talked, if there is anything coming up at the school, if he needs to go pick up Lilly.

"He's just being curious," I decided, "Friends ask about each other. That's what he's doing. Just like I ask you about him and vice versa."

"But you aren't asking about him as a friend and you and I both know it," Alice said, raising an eyebrow at me.

"I told you this morning…I'm not ready for anything. I will tell you the moment I am, but I just can't right now, okay?"

"Yet you're still freaking out over meeting my parents?"

I emptied my lungs in a huff and stood up from the table, realizing that the conversation was slowly going nowhere.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, Bella. Let's go find you something to wear tomorrow, okay? I promise I won't say anything else about you and Edward."

Alice was a miracle worker in my closet, and she managed to find clothes I didn't even know I had. We decided on a pair of black skinny jeans, a white flowing blouse, and a pair of black heels. I don't know how she did it, but she made me feel young, presentable, and professional all at the same time.

"Alice, this looks great! Are you sure it's okay to wear to a family dinner?"

She rolled her eyes at me, "Relax. We're not sending you to the hounds, Bella. They are just my parents…forget Edward even exists for a minute."

I cocked an eyebrow at her. We both knew I wouldn't be able to forget Edward existed, even if it were to make me feel better about meeting the parents.

"Oh please. Quit being a worry wart. Everyone you know will be there. Even Emmett and Rosalie, okay? Nobody new."

"Okay," I said, taking a deep breath and then letting it out again. "Okay."

"Good girl, now let's get you back into your normal clothes before you mess this outfit up. I don't know if I can play miracle worker with your wardrobe again."

I sucked my teeth at her before pushing her out of my room and towards the living room. "Go sit with Lilly, and get out of my hair," I laughed.

"Oh, your hair! Bella, you have to let me come over and help you with it tomorrow! Please? I promise I won't do too much. And won't you feel better if I'm here to help you get ready? I can keep you distracted!"

She made a good argument, so I agreed. "Okay, just come over about an hour before we have to leave, alright?"

Alice smiled and nearly skipped down the hallway back to Lilly.

After I got dressed I sent a quick text to Edward, letting him know I was still on for the dinner. He had seemed nervous asking me, and I wanted to ease his mind a little bit.

_Looking forward to meeting everyone tomorrow!_

_Alice__ has decided to play Bella Barbie with me._

_See you tomorrow night :-)_

I had just finished pulling my hair up into a ponytail when my phone tinged with Edward's response.

_My parents are going to love you._

_Sorry about Alice, you know she means well._

_Can't wait._

I bit my lip and grinned, suddenly looking forward to this family dinner after all.

My alarm was going off bright and early the next day and I hopped out of bed before it could ring a second time. My body had the jitters the moment my feet hit the hardwood floors of my bedroom and I was running at full blast to make sure everything would be done by the time Alice came over.

I didn't want to arrive empty handed, so I texted Edward as soon as I had assumed he was awake and asked what his father's favorite dessert was. It wouldn't hurt to tap into his father's sweet tooth, and would definitely make me feel more comfortable. I was an excellent cook.

Just a few seconds after I sent Edward's message, my phone rang. Assuming it was my favorite bronze haired friend, I answered on the first ring.

"Hello?" I sounded excited and out of breath, but I didn't care.

"Hey, Bells. You alright? You sound a little winded."

I tried not to sound too disappointed when I replied, "Oh, hey, Dad. How are you doing?"

"Oh I'm doing alright… What have you got going on?"

I could tell he wanted to ask me something, but I hadn't talked to him in a while so giving him an update on my life in Oklahoma didn't bother me too much.

"I'm actually getting ready to go to Edward's parent's house for dinner. I'm going to take over dessert so I wanted to get started early."

"You're meeting his parents? Already?"

I realized how my comment sounded and rushed to correct myself, "He and his sister Alice talk about me a lot. I teach his niece, Lilly. Remember me telling you about her? Anyway, their parents wanted me to come for Sunday dinner so they could meet me themselves."

"Uh huh," Charlie sounded skeptical. I sighed.

"So, what's up, Dad?"

"I was just wondering if you were planning to come home for Thanksgiving."

Is that all that was bothering him? "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?"

"Well you seem to be making yourself right at home out there… I didn't want to make you come back."

"Dad, I haven't seen you in months. Of course I want to come back. There's nothing else I want to do than have an old fashioned Swan Thanksgiving…just the two of us, like we used to."

"The two of us?" Charlie hesitated around this question, and it worried me a bit, but I decided to just let it go. He would come out with it eventually. I wondered if he had a lady friend he wanted to invite along for the day.

"Yeah, Dad. Same as always…You'll watch the game while I cook everything up. Just like old times, okay? I've got to go get ready, but I'll call you soon to figure out all of the details, okay?"

"Okay, Bells. That sounds great. Talk to you soon."

"Bye, Dad!"

I hung up the phone quickly and began looking through my cabinets, taking stock of everything I had so I would know what to get if I needed to go to the store.

My phone chirped and I opened it quickly to read Edward's response.

_Apple pie is the surefire way to any_

_Cullen man's heart. ;-)_

Apple pie it was then.

A quick trip to the store, an explosion of flour, a pie in the oven, and a freshly cleaned kitchen later, I finally allowed myself to hop in the shower. Alice would be over in a little over an hour and that gave me plenty of time to take care of everything I needed to.

I had just gotten dressed, minus the heels, and wrapped my hair up in a towel when my doorbell rang. I prayed it was Alice and not some other surprise.

I didn't have the door all of the way opened before Alice barreled in, her hands full with bags.

"What is all this?"

"Supplies, of course. You're naturally beautiful, Bella, but tonight you are going to be stunning."

Stunning seemed to be a little overkill, but I wasn't going to argue. The more confident I was the better. And looking stunning would definitely make me confident.

I pulled the pie from the oven as Alice set up shop in the bathroom. I heard her moving around, bottles clanging as they were jammed onto the small counter.

"Bella, what is that smell? Did you make apple pie?"

"Yeah, I made it from scratch this morning. Is that okay?" I was immediately worried that I had done something wrong.

"Of course it's okay. Edward will love it. Apple pie is his favorite."

"He told me it was Carlisle's favorite…" I trailed off, becoming distracted by the pie as I made sure everything looked okay.

Alice laughed, "Carlisle loves anything sweet. You could have brought ice cream sandwiches. But apple pie is something Edward has loved since he was little."

"That little sneak!" I squealed.

This only made Alice laugh harder as she pushed me out of the kitchen and down the hall. "Come on, we don't have that much time. Let's get you ready."

She decided to go light on the makeup and left my hair in long curls down my back. I didn't feel like she had done too much, and I was ready start the evening.

Before I knew it we were on the way to Esme and Carlisle's. Jasper and Lilly were already there, as well as Edward. Emmett and Rosalie would be a little late because of the drive into town, but dinner was scheduled to start on time.

My nerves got the best of me as we pulled up to the large house, but a little blessing known as Lilly Whitlock brought saved me from myself quickly. The moment the car cut off, Lilly was bounding down the front steps, her arms stretched out wide in front of her.

"Mommy! Ms. Swan! I've been waiting for you _forever_!"

We both laughed as Alice swept her up into her arms. I was holding the pie carefully in my hands and had been eying Lilly warily as she bounded towards us. Jasper's laugh distracted me from Lilly and I looked back up at the porch to see him smiling down on us.

"She has been watching the window for about thirty minutes now. Thank goodness y'all are here."

Edward was just behind him and he gave me a sideways hug as I walked into the house.

"Bella, that pie smells amazing," he said, taking it from me and walking towards what I assumed was the kitchen. The house was amazing and I was blown away by its beauty. Not so blown away, however, that I didn't remember I had a bone to pick with Edward Masen.

"I hope it is okay. I think I did everything right. I don't want to mess it up…since it's your favorite and all."

Edward stopped in the middle of the kitchen and turned towards me, "H-how did you find that out?"

"I'm not naming any names…but the first initial is Alice," I laughed. "So what is your father's favorite dessert? Really."

"He loves pretty much anything. And he will _love_ this pie. I promise."

Edward was still blushing.

"Why didn't you just tell me to bring ice cream or something?"

"Well, I had to test my future wife's apple pie making skills," he said with a sideways grin that took my breath away, "But I didn't exactly tell you that apple pie was my father's favorite. I just said it was a surefire way to a Cullen's heart."

"Yes, but you're not a Cullen," I said, feeling as if I had caught him, and then all of a sudden realizing that there had to be something huge I didn't know about Edward Masen. He must have heard my breath catch because he looked at me and grinned, letting me know that this was a conversation meant for another time.

"Might as well be. I was adopted when I was very little. Apple pie and Cullens go together like peas and carrots."

"And whose heart am I trying to win over today?" I asked, "Are you trying to tell me something, Edward Masen?"

I tried to sound coy but my heart was beating out of my chest. What was I doing?

Alice chose that exact second to walk into the kitchen, banging through the freezer for a cup of ice.

"Hey, Edward. Did you have a nice day?" she called, clearly oblivious to the conversation she had just interrupted.

"Yes, it was very relaxing."

"Good, good. I'm just going to step into the living room. You should probably put that pie in the oven to keep it warm, Bella."

"Oh! Right…"

I took the pie from Edward's hands and placed it on the middle rack in the oven, turning the heat on very low so it would only warm the pie, not cook it any more.

Edward left the kitchen quickly but Alice stayed behind, fixing Lilly a plate of food so she could play while the adults sat together and ate.

"Mom and Dad are in the living room, if you want to go in there and meet them really quick. I'm surprised they weren't at the door to greet you! They were both outside at the grill."

I left the kitchen quickly, finding Edward standing in the hallway just outside of the living room waiting for me.

"You ready?" he asked, smiling at me.

"As I'll ever be," I smiled back and took his hand that he offered me. He gave it a light squeeze before leading me into the room.

"Mom, Dad, this is Lilly's first grade teacher, Bella Swan."

The two people that stood to welcome me were not at all what I pictured when I heard Lilly referring to them as "Nana" and "PopPop". They looked barely old enough to be parents of grown children, let alone grandparents.

Esme was classically beautiful and I felt right at home when she hugged me in welcome.

"It is so good to finally meet you, Bella. I have heard so much about you from my children."

I smiled as she pulled back and held my hands in hers.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Cullen. How are you feeling?"

"Oh, dear, call me Esme. And I am feeling just fine. My men just like to overreact sometimes."

I laughed as she rolled her eyes at Edward and Carlisle.

"I'm glad you are feeling better. I was worried."

"Thank you, dear. I appreciate it." She smiled tenderly at me. "Dinner should be ready in a few minutes. Please, make yourself at home. Would you like some tea?"

"Oh, sure. That would be great," I answered, trying not to be too enthusiastic, but I was clearly relieved that Esme was so welcoming.

She rushed out of the room to get me glass of tea and Carlisle stepped forward.

I automatically blushed as he held his hand out to me. Was it bad to find my student's grandfather extremely good looking? He took my hand warmly between his and welcomed me to his home before excusing himself to head out to the grill once more.

Emmett came up and wrapped me in a huge hug, letting me know it was great to see me again. I couldn't help but squeeze back just as hard as he gave and he placed me back on my feet with a huge smile across his face. "Thatta girl!"

Rosalie welcomed me back with a smile and a warm hug as well and we quickly stepped off to the side with Alice while the guys all went outside to stand with Carlisle.

Esme came and joined us, handing me my glass of tea as she smiled at the three of us.

"I'm so glad we could all be here today." She was beaming and I couldn't help but smile back at her. "And, Bella, that pie smells amazing! I can't wait to try it later. I know Edward has got to be excited."

I blushed, even more irritated than before with Edward since his mother had noticed his favorite dessert as well. "I hope everyone enjoys it."

"So tell me about yourself, dear. What brought you to Oklahoma?"

I had the perfect speech planned to answer this question, and almost went straight into it without even thinking until I looked into Esme's friendly eyes. Something in them made me want to tell the truth, and after a quick survey of the room assured me that only the ladies around me would hear, I decided to spill a very condensed version of the truth.

"Well, I actually was just ready to leave home. I had just ended a five year relationship, and it was time for me to move on from a lot of things. The best way, in my book, was to go somewhere new. I've loved every second of it and haven't looked back once."

I could tell that Esme was touched by my short story and she reached to put her hand on my shoulder, "I am so glad that Alice and Edward found you. You seem to be such a nice girl."

From anyone else, the idea of children "finding me" and making my life easier because of it would have sounded stuck up and mighty, but I found myself smiling genuinely at Esme.

"Alice and Edward have definitely played a huge part in making this place home for me. I'm very thankful for them."

Alice smiled at me and put her arm around my waist, giving me a slight hug. I knew she wouldn't ask me any questions today about my confession to Esme, but I knew they would be coming in the near future. And after noticing all of the amazing people around me, I was pretty sure I was almost ready for it.

"Ms. Swan! I finished eating, now come play dominos with me!"

Lilly came bouncing into the room, a box full of dominos in her hands, and collided with my legs.

"Lilly, what do you say?" Alice prodded gently.

"Please?" the little girl asked, poking her bottom lip out at me. I understood why Edward never argued with her.

"Okay, as long as you finished all of your food. Let mommy check your plate first."

Alice smiled at me in thanks and checked Lilly's plate; assuring her she had done a good job and could play with the dominos before the adults began to eat.

We began to make silly shapes along the floor and knock them down, trying to use all of the dominos in the box before they fell. We rarely made it that far, with either Lilly's excitement or my left foot knocking them all down before we met our goal.

Lilly had just knocked over an extremely long pile when I heard Edward's cell phone ring from across the room. I hadn't even realized he had come inside, so I turned to smile at him across the room. My smile faded slightly as I saw the look of frustration on his face as he held the phone away from his ear.

**EPOV**

"Professor Masen?" The voice coming through my phone was a female's, and it sounded whiny. She was also talking too loud for normal conversation, so I held my phone about six inches away from my ear.

"Yes?" I answered. I tried not to let the irritation show in my voice. I always hated when students called me on weekends. My cell number was on my syllabus, right next to my statement on preferring emails to phone calls.

"Oh, hey! Professor, this is Lauren Mallory. I'm in your class?"

I leaned my head back in agony. Of all people, she was the one to call me on a Sunday, while I was at my family dinner. With Bella. Who was, at the moment, playing dominoes with Lilly. They weren't playing the actual game, just setting them up and making them fall. Bella looked up at me and smiled. I tried to return it, but my face contorted in pain from the call I had been forced to take. "Yes, Miss Mallory?"

"Okay, well, like," she began. I grinded my teeth. "I'm, like, trying to do this project you assigned but I'm at a total loss. Can we, like, meet for coffee later and discuss my direction?"

Bella saw my expression, and she mouthed, 'Are you okay?' I could only blink at her. "No, Miss Mallory. My office hours are on the syllabus."

She sighed loudly, like my niece would after being denied her toys. "But Professor, I _need_ to speak with you today!"

"Today is Sunday, Lauren," I reminded her, my formality slipping. I was _this_ close to hanging up. "I do not see students on the weekends. My office hours begin on Monday. You are welcome to see me then. Goodbye, Miss Mallory."

I hung up the phone before she could say anything else. Bella had stood up and was walking toward me, her clothing choice accentuating her hips. She'd dressed up for the family dinner, wearing dark jeans, a flowing shirt, and heels; looking more like a beautiful young woman than the school teacher I had become accustomed to seeing. Her dark brown hair was curled, hanging in ringlets around her shoulders. When she approached me, she cocked her head to the side and laid a hand on my shoulder.

"Everything okay?" She asked. Lilly had gotten up and was running towards us with alarming speed.

"Remember Lauren Mallory? The girl in my class." I watched as recognition clicked on Bella's face. "She called. She wants help on her project."

Bella laughed quietly. Lilly had just slammed into my leg and was saying, "Uncle Eddie! Dominos!"

"The poor girl. She won't give up, will she?" Bella said, referring to Lauren.

I shook my head. "Sometimes they never learn." I bent down, becoming eye level with my niece. "Did you eat all of your vegetables that Nana Esme gave you before you started playing with Miss Bella?"

She nodded vigorously. "Mommy saw me! Ask her!"

I smiled and ruffled her hair. "I believe you, kiddo."

My mother floated into the room, carrying a large casserole pan. I stood up and ran to grab the dish from her hands and gave her a stern look. "Overexertion," I whispered urgently.

"Edward," she said warningly. Then she looked down at Lilly, who was now standing next to Bella. "Bella, are you having fun?"

Bella blushed. "Oh, I'm having a fantastic time. It makes me eager to go home and see my dad," she admitted.

Esme tilted her head. "Will you be returning to Washington for Thanksgiving, then?"

"That's the plan," Bella said.

I felt my stomach clench, but I couldn't understand why. Of course she'd go home for the major holiday. How selfish of me to hope she'd stay here. Her father was in Forks. Her…ex-lover was in Forks. Was that what I was worried about? I was fairly confident that Bella wouldn't rekindle her romance with the boy, but it seemed that lately, Bella was full of surprises.

For example, she fit in with my family better than I'd predicted. I expected her to feel awkward and out of place, but instead, she danced over to Jasper and Lilly the moment we walked in the door. Alice hugged her tightly, Jasper smiled at her, and Lilly held up the box of dominos for Bella to see.

When Bella met my father, she blushed like most women did. She shook his hand and agreed to call him Carlisle. Esme hugged her, and Bella's face softened. She asked if Esme was alright, and told her that she was worried about her despite never meeting her. I could already see the gears in my mother's head, planning our future wedding.

The whole dinner felt oddly…_normal_. I made Bella's dinner plate while she played with Lilly. I'd been worried that I'd put something on her plate that she wouldn't like, but to my surprise, she loved every selection I'd made. The roasted garlic broccoli that Rosalie had contributed was Bella's favorite. While we ate, I'd look up across the table to Bella to see if she was enjoying herself. She always met my stare with a reassuring smile. This didn't go unnoticed by my mom and my sister, who interrogated me in private.

Emmett and Jasper pulled me aside at one point.

"Are you going to marry her?" Emmett asked, nudging me with his elbow. We were standing outside in the crisp air, all three of us holding sodas. "Because, seriously, if you don't, I will."

I chuckled. "And what about Rosalie?"

Emmett scoffed. "Rosalie is totally open-minded. I'm sure she wouldn't mind having someone as awesome as Bella around."

"She is pretty great," Jasper agreed. "We've had her over at the house a bunch these past few months. Alice loves her."

"Everyone loves her." Emmett rubbed a groove in the ground with his shoe. "Mom, Dad, Alice, Rosalie…"

"Lilly," I added. "I think Lilly's attachment is what got us all in the first place."

Emmett gave me a hard stare. "You don't love her, do you?"

I ran a hand through my hair and stared off into the distance. The leaves on the trees were bright orange and red, painting the fall sky in the most beautiful way. I could hear Bella's laugh coming through the sliding glass door. The sound made my stomach flutter.

"It doesn't matter," I said quietly, crushing my empty can in my hand. "For one, she's Lilly's teacher. There has to be an unwritten rule that the student's uncle can't date the teacher."

"Fuck that rule," Emmett said bluntly.

Jasper laughed softly and shook his head. "What's the other setback?"

"She's still recovering from something. Exactly what, I don't know. She won't tell me."

"Give her time, Edward," Jasper urged. Out of Emmett and Jasper, I valued Jasper's advice the most. "Bella is a trusting soul. Whoever let her down broke her."

The can protested in my hands as it became flat. "I know that. I'd love to know just _who_ broke her."

"_You_ better not break her, Edward," Emmett warned, putting a large hand on my shoulder. "Bella is the first girl you've brought home since Tanya. She's also the first girl the whole family has approved of. Ever."

I brushed his hand off and turned to look at him directly. He was taller than me by about six inches, and he was bigger than me by a whole other person. However, I had never been scared of Emmett McCarty. "Everyone wants _me_ to be careful and not hurt her. I haven't even done anything!"

"I know," Jasper said quietly. "That's the problem."

* * *

Okay, so we are LOVING your reviews. Seriously!

And, if y'all can top the reviews on the other chapters with this one, coldasice and I will write an outtake of something we all know you want to see... could it be a certain even that didn't happen in the last chapter, but we were all begging for?... Trust me, everyone review and you'll get it!

To those of you who have mentioned nominating for awards--thanks so much! Even if we don't make it to the voting round, it means so much to us for you to even send one in :)

Be sure to come play with us on the forums as well!

And, while you're waiting for our next update, check out You Belong With Me by emeraldgrl. I'm betaing for it, and it is worth the read!

Love you all!


	14. OUTTAKE!

COLDASICEx3 here, just wanting to say a few things before I give you an outtake from "When Edward Met Bella".

First: This is an OUTTAKE. It has nothing to do with the plotline of WEMB. It is written to fit in with the story, but it is not essential to anything. It's merely an indulgence.

Second: Jliane and I were pleasantly surprised to find out that the lovely ladies on recommended us on their podcasts! This is a pretty big deal considering that the makers of the podcasts are practically Twilight Fan Fiction Royalty.

Third: We are so thankful that this story is being mentioned in big places. When we started "When Edward Met Bella", we were trying to write a story that wasn't painfully cliché. We actually sat and tried to think of something that wasn't overdone. Of course, in the Twilight Fan Fic world, it's hard to do something that's original—it's nearly impossible. If you've stuck with us this long, we appreciate you. If you've sat in your chair or bed or couch and said to yourself, "Why doesn't Bella just get over it and kiss him?!" or "Why won't Edward just kiss her already?!" we thank you.

Fourth: This is from my fabulous co-author, Jliane: Thanks so much for all of the reviews and the support! We really read every single one of them and take into account everything you say, so thanks for sticking with us! On another note--my first story, Lullabies Go On, has been nominated for an Indie Award for Best Use of Music, Complete... so, don't forget to go vote this week! Thanks and love you all!"

Fifth (last thing, I promise): We love reviews. They're like crack. We get on the internet and say things like, "SIXTY REVIEWS! OH MY GOD!" It's sometimes hard for us to believe that people are really enjoying our story. We looooove it when you loooove it! That being said, please review, even if it's just to say, "MAKE THEM HAVE SEX ALREADY."

Now, please enjoy an outtake from Edward Masen's point of view!

______________________________________________________________

Despite being in the calmest, most tranquil environment possible, I still couldn't sleep. The cabin my parents had rented in the Florida Keys was luxurious beyond belief; the sheets were Egyptian cotton (at least, Alice said so), and there were enough pillows to imitate the clouds. We had a private beach that Lilly took full advantage of, along with her mom and dad. There was a balcony off my bedroom that I left wide open so I could hear the ocean and smell the salty air.

I had been woken up earlier that day by my bouncing niece, already wearing her swim suit and carrying a plastic shovel and bucket. She jumped on my bed and started slapping my cheeks, demanding that I get out of bed so that we can go shell hunting. The sun hadn't been up for very long when she finally got me out of bed.

Rosalie and Emmett were in the kitchen attempting to make pancakes; it wasn't working. Emmett was wrapped up in Rose, and the mix was burning in the skillet quicker than they could flip it. Mom and Dad were sitting out on the porch, enjoying a cup of coffee together. Alice and Jasper were already out on the beach, Alice wearing a huge white sunhat and a designer beach dress.

Bella, who my parents had convinced to join us on our annual family vacation, was still asleep. Her room was next to mine. It took every ounce of my willpower not to crawl into her bed; at least then, I watch her face while she slept.

The moon was shining through my window and the mesh curtains. I watched it slowly rise, feeling the time tick by. We were leaving in two days, going back to the real world where Lilly was due to start the second grade and I was starting another semester at OU. Bella was dropping her first grade class and moving on to the fourth grade. The fourth grade teacher was due to have a baby in the late summer, and decided it would be better to take the entire school year off and start working the following year. Bella was nervous to tackle fourth graders—they were far less innocent than first graders.

I heard a door open down the hallway, and assumed it was someone getting up to use the bathroom. I paid no attention, choosing to kick the covers away from my body and let the cool air wash over me. I was wearing the sleep pants that Alice had gotten me for Christmas as a joke—they were covered in unicorns and rainbows. As hideous as they were, I couldn't help but love them because they were incredibly comfortable.

There were footsteps, then a quiet knock on my door. I sat up out of bed, looking at the door intently. After a few seconds, I heard a very quiet voice say, "Edward?"

It was Bella. In the five days we'd been on the island, she was the person I'd talked to the least. When the plane landed, Alice and Rosalie took her directly to the beach. The next day, she helped Lilly build sandcastles while the men played volleyball. The rest of the days, we just spent doing separate things. Of course, we saw each other at dinner and talked a little, but we mostly spoke pleasantries and greetings. I didn't know how much fun she was having, or if she was sad that our vacation was coming to an end.

Now, suddenly, she was standing at my door, peeking her head in to see if I was awake. We made eye contact, and she walked into the room quietly, closing the door behind her. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, and she was wearing a loose white tank top with shorts. I assumed her shoulders and back were still crispy red from when she spent the day in the sun with Lilly, and that was why she was so scantily clad; however, that didn't stop me from locking my eyes on her tiny frame.

She crawled into my bed carefully, refusing to lay back on the pillows. I could feel her body heat radiating through her skin; she set me on fire. Then, very slowly, she rolled on her side and curled her legs in. I laid back down, rolling on my side. My face was inches from hers; I could feel her sweet breath.

"I can't sleep," she said simply, whispering. Her hands curled under the pillow.

I'd never been with Bella in this intimate of a setting. I'd hugged her and held her while she cried, but those were trivial compared to this. She was in my bed, not even a foot away from me. Her knees were touching mine.

"Why are you in here?"

She scooted closer, our bodies matching up like puzzle pieces. She exhaled deeply. "I missed you. I feel like we haven't really seen each other this whole time."

"I missed you too," I admitted. Then, very carefully, I rested one hand on her hip. She relaxed under my touch.

She exhaled slowly, her breath washing over my face and throwing me in a frenzy. She didn't smell like toothpaste, but she didn't smell like the quesadillas we had for dinner. I couldn't explain exactly what the scent was, but I knew I wanted to pull her closer and breathe her in forever.

I grabbed her hands and brought them to my lips. I kissed each knuckle, keeping my mouth there longer than necessary. Her breathing quickened, and her eyes locked with mine. After I'd kissed each finger, I stroked her hand with my thumb.

"Bella," I whispered. Her mouth twisted into a small smile. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I would love to marry you when I'm forty." I chuckled. "Maybe even sooner."

Her face split into a huge grin. "I'm glad you think that, because I plan on scaring off any girl between now and forty." She lowered her voice. "I want to be the only one."

Where was this coming from? Bella had never been so forward with her thoughts about the relationship we shared. Every time she mentioned anything about "us", she blushed madly and looked embarrassed. Now, she was looking right at me, and there wasn't a hint of a blush on her cheeks in the moonlight.

I had a flashback to Halloween, when I'd wanted so badly to kiss her. My niece had interrupted, but the desire never went away. Bella had looked so beautiful dressed like Wendy – it was the first time I'd ever harbored a serious crush for a Disney character.

She looked beautiful now. And now, there was no little girl to interrupt us. There was nothing to stop me. Not even Bella.

I think she saw the desire in my eyes, but she didn't move away. Instead, her lips curved up into a small smile and she closed her eyes. My emotions were in overdrive. I'd wanted to kiss her for so long, but I had never considered what it would be like to actually do it.

I closed my eyes and very lightly touched my lips to hers. Her body went stiff, but instead of pulling away like I thought she wanted to, she wrapped her arms around my neck and her fingers pulled at my hair. She used my weight to pull herself closer to me, molding to my body.

I was surprised by her response, but I didn't want to waste a good thing. I grabbed her waist and pulled her even closer, eliciting a slight moan from her against my mouth. My tongue touched her lips, and she responded by opening her mouth.

I couldn't remember a time when I'd enjoyed a kiss this much. Tanya never kissed with this much passion. Before Tanya, I had dated a woman named Kate. It wasn't a relationship worth mentioning, mostly because it lasted less than a month and was more of a fling than an actual partnership. It was nothing compared to this. I would trade all of those for a chance to kiss the woman of my dreams. Bella was going to be my wife someday, the kiss only proved it. She fit so well in my arms that it had to be kismet.

She pulled away quickly, her chest heaving up and down as she gasped for air. Her lips were swollen; I smiled a bit on the inside. That was from _me_.

"Edward," she breathed. Her voice was so low, so sultry, it stirred something inside me. I suddenly couldn't keep my lips off her. I attacked her neck, and she moaned in response.

"Wait," she said, breaking away again. I groaned.

"Bella, I've been waiting for too long." I pulled her close without much effort.

She giggled. "Then you can wait for a little longer," she teased.

"Edward!" A different voice shouted.

I winced. That wasn't Bella's sweet voice. The voice didn't belong to my sister or my niece. It was, in fact, a fellow colleague's voice.

I shook my head and began blinking furiously. Suddenly, the images around me changed. Instead of seeing the moon through the window, I saw a tree with bare branches. I wasn't in a bed; I was sitting in my office at OU with my elbows on the desk and my head in my hands. Jane Morton was standing in front of my desk, her brown hair pulled up into a stiff ponytail. She didn't look happy, but then again, she never did. Despite being ten years older than me, she still carried her youthful appearance.

_What a vivid day dream,_ I thought to myself in disappointment. Just seconds ago, I was holding Bella in my arms. I suddenly felt very depressed.

"Yes, Jane?" I asked, feeling melancholy.

"Your phone has been ringing off the hook," she snipped at me. She pointed at the telephone on my desk. "I've been listening to it for the past two minutes. If you _don't_ mind," she picked it up as it rang once more and held it out to me, "answer it."

I grabbed the phone from her and held it to my ear, giving her a smug grin. "This is Professor Edward Cullen," I answered.

"Why is your phone off?" Bella squealed into the receiver. My heart lurched at the sound of her voice. "I tried to call your cell but it went straight to voicemail. Why is that?"

"It's dead," I said. "I forgot to charge it last night. How did you get my university number?"

She sighed into the phone, sounding relieved. "I called the music department and asked for you. Look, I have a problem."

"What's the problem?"

She sighed again, and I realized that it sounded more like shivering than exasperation. "My truck has a flat tire and everyone has left for the day. And, the temperature is dropping."

"Where are you?" I asked, gathering all of my materials on my desk into a pile.

"I'm at the DMV. Remember when I said that I was going to get my Oklahoma license today?" She reminded me.

I thought back to when we were having drinks together after a long day at work. She'd been pulled over by a police officer for a brake light being out, and he told her she needed to obtain an Oklahoma license as quickly as possible. Bella, of course, completely panicked and demanded that we spend the next weekend studying the pamphlet. It was exactly the same things she had learned in Washington, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching Bella's frustration as she realized this.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes. Wait in your truck, okay?" I instructed.

"Okay," she answered.

I packed up my things and stuck them in my bag. Jane had her arms crossed over her chest and was glaring at me. I brushed past her and headed straight to my car. Bella was right—the temperature was dropping dramatically. My breath was coming out in little white puffs.

The scenery around me was gray and bleak. It was a far cry from my daydream about Bella. The island had been much prettier, and the company was much better. I shook my head as I climbed into my Volvo. My feelings were intensifying for her. First, she invaded my dreams; now, she was claiming my afternoons.

Was it ever going to stop?

Did I want it to stop?

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I, COLDASICEx3, will be out of town from July 27 to July 31. When I get back, jliane and I hope to have chapter fifteen up and ready to submit. Leave us lots of love until then. If you have questions, ask jliane at the forums!


	15. Was It Worth It?

Sorry about the wait! I won't waste your time with the A/N! See you at the bottom! Don't own it!

**BPOV**

As soon as school ended I pulled my phone out of my purse. I hadn't heard from Edward in a few days, and I felt strange getting in touch with him first. I didn't want to seem too needy, and I was worried that contacting him would make me seem exactly that.

I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face when I saw a text from Edward in my inbox.

_I have huge favor to ask. I'm stranded at the University…My car won't start. Can you pick me up?_

A small part of me was slightly hurt that he only decided to contact me when he needed help, but that was overweighed completely by the fact that I had finally heard from him.

_Of course, I'm on my way_. I sent a quick text back and flew out of my classroom.

My heart was leaping in my chest at the idea of seeing Edward again.

I stuffed my phone into my coat pocket and power walked to my car, struggling to look semi-normal and not sprint to my parking place. A few parents called hellos and I smiled back kindly, but nothing more. I was a woman on a mission.

My cell phone slipped out of my pocket and crashed to the pavement as I hopped into the driver's seat.

"Crap," I muttered, grabbing the phone and wiping it off before noticing I had missed another one of Charlie's calls. I sighed and decided to take advantage of the time it would take to drive across town by giving my father a call back. I needed to finalize plans anyway, and I had been so busy lately that I rarely ever heard my phone ring, let alone answered it.

"Hey, Dad. What's up?" I asked as soon as he answered. My voice cracked; evidence of the sore throat I had been avoiding for the last few days.

"Hey there, Bells. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah," I answered, clearing my throat, "I just haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately, so I might be getting sick."

"Oh okay," he paused, "I was just calling about this weekend. Are you…still coming?"

He seemed nervous and I sat up a little straighter in my seat, feeling his secret was about to be released.

"Of course I am," I said with a slight chuckle that turned into a cough, "I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I just didn't know if you had heard from Jacob or something..."

I almost laughed. "No, I haven't heard from Jacob. Why would I?"

And all at once, the pieces clicked together. "Dad...Please tell me Jacob has nothing to do with Thanksgiving. Can you tell me that?"

His end of the phone was silent and I groaned, slamming my hand against the steering wheel and honking my horn at an unsuspecting pedestrian. "What the hell, Dad? What happened to it being just the two of us?"

Charlie was silent for a moment more before he finally decided to speak. "Well, Billy has been having a rough time this year and I thought maybe it would be okay to invite him and Jacob over for dinner--"

"No way. I'm not coming. I won't do it. I told you that I don't want anything to do with Jacob anymore. What made you think I would want to spend Thanksgiving with him? I was coming home to see _you_." I was gripping my cell phone so tightly that I was almost convinced it would burst apart in my hands. How could he do this to me?

"Bella, Jacob's been having a hard time lately and—"

"No, Dad…_I _have been having a hard time lately. What gives you the right to do that? You _know_ I don't want to see him!" My voice was getting shaky and I knew I was moments away from angry tears spilling down my face.

"It is _my_ house, and I am your father—"

"And as my _father_, you should be looking out for my best interest."

"Aren't you being a little dramatic, Bella? Jake was heartbroken when you left. Can't you just come home and spend the day with us?"

"Pick a team, Charlie! Now." In my anger I had forgotten how much he hated for me not to call him Dad, but thinking back on the situation, I felt it was deserved.

He sighed and began speaking to me in the tone of voice I would use with one of my students. A tone I would use when telling one child that they had to share the pink crayon with their desk neighbor and learn to get along.

"Now listen, Bells. We used to be a family; the four of us, and you took off for no reason and just left us all. Is it so bad that I want you here? And that I want to share that special time with my best friend and a young man who I think of as a son?"

"I didn't take off for no reason, and you know it. And clearly Jacob isn't hurting very much if he already has someone new. You didn't invite her to Thanksgiving, too, did you?"

Charlie was silent again and it took all I had not to throw my phone out of my window into oncoming traffic.

"I'm not coming. I can't believe you would even think for a second I would be okay with this. And until you realize why I am so upset, I won't be coming home at all. Maybe I will see you at Christmas."

I snapped the phone shut violently and threw it in the passenger seat before turning the radio up as loud as it could go to mask the scream I felt building up in my chest.

When my mind finally cleared enough for me to take in my surroundings, I realized I was getting close to the school where Edward was stranded.

"Get yourself together, Bella," I talked to myself, wiping my eyes and fluffing my hair as I stole glances is my rear view mirror. "Don't let him see that something is bothering you."

I thought I had done a good job of making myself presentable by the time I pulled up to Edward's Volvo. My eyes weren't as puffy, and my hair had been smoothed back down from where my hands had been continually running through it during my conversation with Charlie. However, my attempts weren't good enough, because the second Edward's eyes locked with mine, he could tell something was wrong.

The bright smile that had taken over his face when I pulled up had quickly fallen and a frown of concern quickly took its place.

"Bella? Are you okay? What happened?"

I quickly shook my head, unlocking the passenger door and motioning for him to get inside.

"I'm fine, just get in."

He looked at me cautiously but walked around the front of my car and got in.

"So what happened to your car?" I asked as I pulled out, trying to keep him distracted as my fingers drummed nervously on my steering wheel.

"Well, I—"

"Did you call Alice?"

"Yes, but—"

"You really shouldn't leave it here overnight. Maybe we should call Jasper."

"I did, and—"

"How about some music?"

I turned the radio, keeping it too loud for conversation as Edward sat back in his seat and stared at me like I had five heads. I was aware that I hadn't given him any time to answer, and that my left leg was bouncing erratically as I sped through town back towards my classroom.

"You don't mind if we stop in and do some work, do you?"

Edward didn't bother trying to talk this time; he simply nodded his head and stayed quiet, his eyes wide and questioning. I spent the rest of the drive thanking the heavens that Edward was wise enough not to ask any questions. I wasn't sure I could hold the tears at bay any longer if he did.

**EPOV**

I sat on Bella's desk while she tried to arrange five piles of paper into two neat stacks. It was Tuesday, two days before Thanksgiving, and she had recruited me to help her clean her classroom. Apparently, her organization had gone down the drain after Halloween. I couldn't blame her. Mine had disappeared as well.

I was especially grateful for Bella today. On my way home from work, at least two hours before Bella was done with her classes, my reliable Volvo decided that the battery should die. I sat in the parking lot for ten minutes, willing the key to turnover. Because I didn't want to interrupt Bella, I waited until three o'clock to call her. She picked me up and took me back to her classroom for an emergency clean-up.

Something was wrong with Bella, but she wouldn't tell me anything. When I first climbed in her truck, I saw that her brown eyes had red circles around them and were slightly puffy as if she'd been crying. Bella hid the evidence from me and barely let me talk. It surprised me when she cranked up the volume on her truck's antique radio, drowning out anything I tried to say; I wasn't aware her radio even functioned.

School had been out for two hours now, and we'd barely made a dent. She was wearing a red long sleeve dress that hit her at knee length. Under the dress, she wore black tights and matching red flat shoes. Her hair, which was originally down and hanging gracefully around her shoulders, was now piled in a bun on top of her head. She wore reading glasses—something I was not aware of.

I was in charge of alphabetizing all of the stacks she handed me. I'd gotten through one stack, and now we had five piles to go. Surprisingly, the first grade level had just as much paperwork as college, only with poorer handwriting.

She leaned back in her chair and blew a hair out of her face. "Edward," she moaned, sticking out her bottom lip. Her mood had become happier with the passing hours.

She had assigned a worksheet about the planets. Students had to spell out the names of each planet and attempt to draw them. The worksheet only allowed for Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. One child drew a special place and wrote "PLUTO" in purple crayon. Bella didn't even count off, either. I couldn't help but chuckle. I met her gaze and said, "Yes?"

"I hate this," she said, kicking off her shoes and pulling her legs underneath her. She pulled the elastic band from her hair and the brown waves cascaded down the side of her face. "And I'm hungry."

"Would you like some cheese with that whine?" I said sarcastically. She held up a finger, and my jaw fell open. "Miss Swan, how inappropriate!"

"I'll show you inappropriate," she mumbled, thumbing through a stack of papers. "Eating your boogers in class. Asking why Mommy had a red spot on her neck. Inviting your ex-boyfriend to Thanksgiving dinner…" The last part of her mini-rant was so quiet, I barely heard it. However, my ears twitched and I sat a little straighter.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" I asked, trying to be polite.

She looked at me curiously, her mouth compressing into a tight line. Then, she pulled a hand through her long brown hair. "It's just plain rude, you know? I mean, I'm coming back for my dad, not _him._ Why wouldn't Charlie get that?"

I cleared my throat carefully. "Charlie?"

She waved a hand at me as if it were unimportant. "Charlie is my dad. My dad that I haven't seen since I moved here. But too bad for him, because I'm not coming home now. No, definitely not…"

I leaned forward and put my hand over her mouth. She seemed taken aback, looking at me from under her eyelashes. She furrowed her eyebrows.

"I am confused," I said slowly, keeping my hand securely over her mouth. "And I hate being confused. It's a pet peeve of mine, really." I shook my head. "Anyway, it's driving me crazy that I don't know what you're talking about. Care to share?"

Once I moved my hand, she took a deep breath. "My dad invited _him_ to Thanksgiving dinner."

"Who, Jake?" Her breath caught, and she nodded. "And this is bad because you haven't seen him since…?"

"Since we broke up, really. It was kind of a surprise to him that I moved."

"Maybe it's time to face the music, Bella."

"Is that supposed to be funny because you _teach_ music?" Her trademark smile was poking through her stressed expression. But then, she was serious again. "I'm just…I'm not ready. I can't go home knowing he'll be there."

I moved from her desk to the chair next to her own. It was a smaller chair, meant for children, so naturally I was too big to be comfortable. I was looking up at Bella, and my knees were practically level with my ears. "Does that mean you're not going to Forks for Thanksgiving?"

She dropped her face into her hands. "No. Charlie and I got into a fight this morning. I told him I'd come home next month, for Christmas."

I grabbed her hand and stroked her soft skin with my thumb. I'd been doing that a lot in the past month, especially since the family dinner after Halloween. We'd grown, if possible, closer after she'd garnered my family's approval. But we were still only friends. Friends that cared deeply for one another, held hands, and talked every night for at least an hour. Friends that sacrificed a college football game for helping the other clean their messy classroom.

But still _just_ friends.

"Esme would love to have you," I reminded her, giving her tiny hand a squeeze. It was so warm compared to mine. "She's been bugging me all week."

"I'd hate to impose," Bella stuttered.

I scoffed. "Bella, we've been friends for a while now. You should know better than that."

She rolled her eyes at me. "But Edward, I feel like I crash every holiday. Labor Day, Halloween, now Thanksgiving…"

"Wait, wait," I said, looking up at her incredulously. "How did you 'crash' Labor Day?" I asked, making finger quotations with my free hand.

"I don't know, but that's beside the point." She laughed quietly. "I'm being ridiculous."

"Yes," I said nodding. "You are. You will be there on Thanksgiving to participate in the family traditions."

"Which are?"

I scratched my chin; it was time for a shave. "Rosalie and Alice argue with me, Jasper, and Emmett over which videogames to play—Mrs. Pac-man or 007. The fight gets pretty brutal, so we take out our aggression in a game of tag football. Except no one actually tags; we all tackle and punch. It's a real bonding experience."

Her shoulders were shaking with laughter by the end of my story. "You punch Alice?" She asked through giggles.

"Are you kidding?" I asked. "She starts it all. I had a bloody lip last year because of that crazy little pixie."

That bit of information drove her over the edge. I began laughing with her. Both of us were laughing so hard that we didn't notice when someone cleared their throat from the doorway.

Finally, Bella looked up while wiping her eyes with her fingers. A man leaned against the doorframe, his dark eyes glittering. He was tall and burly, yet nowhere near as large as Emmett. He had short brown hair and dark skin.

"Tyler," Bella greeted, a smile still on her face. She glanced at me and chuckled. "What are you still doing here?"

"Same thing you are I suppose," he said, glaring at me. "Who is this?"

Bella stood up and smoothed out her dress. "Tyler, this is Edward Masen. He teaches at OU. Edward, this is Tyler Crowley. He teaches the third grade."

I stood up and leaned forward with my right hand out for him to shake. He looked down at my hand as if it was covered in poisonous needles, but he shook it after a moment. "Pleasure," he said curtly. He looked at Bella with a lighter expression. "Bella, are we still on for dinner this Friday?"

Dinner? My heart stopped for a moment. She hadn't mentioned any sort of date with this man. I was a bit hurt. As close as we'd become, I was sure she would have mentioned the thought of going out with another man. She never talked about coworkers, just students. I looked at Bella for confirmation, only to see her cheeks were on fire.

"I'm sorry, Tyler," she said, biting her lip. "I'm afraid I'll be out of town on Friday," she lied, "I won't be home until Sunday night."

Tyler looked discouraged, but he gave a single nod. "Another time, then." He threw a dirty look in my direction.

"Definitely." There was a moment of awkward silence where Tyler and Bella stared at each other. I stood there, feeling out of place.

When Tyler finally left, I had no idea what to say to Bella. 'Thanks for telling me about your date.' That wouldn't work. How could it? We were just friends.

"I never told him I would have dinner with him," she said quietly. I looked up at her as she spoke. "He asked what my plans were for Friday. I said I wasn't sure. He said we should have dinner, and then the kids started showing up. I never agreed."

I shrugged and tried to compose my face. "You don't have to explain yourself to me, Bella." I saw her cringe a bit, so I tried to soften my voice. "I'm not your boyfriend."

She sat back down in her chair and looked down at her stack of papers. "Yeah," she mumbled, pulling them onto her lap. "I guess you're right."

I hate being right.

* * *

"All I'm saying is," Jasper continued, ignoring my protests, "I am not going out in this weather just to jump start your car. Wait for the morning, when this massive storm has passed."

I growled into the phone; Bella shot a stern look at me from the driver's side of her truck. The clouds were darkening around us as we drove to her house—the radio was predicting flooding rains and heavy winds along with hail and lightning. I was trying to convince Jasper to meet me at OU so that I could get my Volvo home, but he vehemently refused. "Fine. Tomorrow."

I hung up, obviously irritated. My mood didn't last long because Bella placed a warm hand on my knee and looked directly into my eyes when the car came to a stop for a red light.

"I'd feel better if you were with me," she admitted quietly. "I hate storms; I'm still not used to the things that come with the rain here."

Why had I tried calling Jasper? Why was I upset that he wouldn't help me today? I couldn't even remember. My mind became clouded with the idea of holding Bella in my arms while the power flickered off and the storm raged on.

It had just started to rain when we pulled into her driveway. From what the radio said, it was a slow moving storm and the worst part was still north of us.

"Are you hungry?" She asked, hanging her car keys from a hook next to her front door. She pulled her jacket off and threw it over a chair, then disappeared into her bedroom before giving me a chance to answer.

I removed my jacket as well and set it next to hers. "Kind of," I shouted to her general direction.

A minute later, she emerged from her room wearing a pair of gray Sooner sweatpants and the OU shirt I had forced upon her at the football game. My heart swelled with joy.

"Don't," she warned, pointing her index finger at me. "It's laundry week and these are the most comfortable clothes I have." She sat down on her sofa with her legs crossed and looked up at me expectantly. Her hair was down and tousled around her shoulders, and it gave her the appearance of total relaxation.

The sky lightened up a bit, the clouds reflecting a light gray instead of a smoky color. It was Mother Nature's ruse, because, after living in a state with unstable weather, I knew that cloud colors couldn't be trusted.

"What are we eating?" I asked, trying to take my mind off of what she was wearing.

She shrugged. "I really don't feel like cooking. I feel like curling up in a ball and eating pizza."

"We can do that," I conceded, sitting down next to her.

An hour later, the storm was picking up and we were listening to the hail pelt the house. We'd finished off almost the entire box of pizza. The news was blaring, and Bella was holding her knees close to her chest as she watched with fear. Our local weatherman was warning everyone to go to their safe spots. Bella looked around her house and bit her lip.

"Do we need to take shelter?" She asked. "I don't have a storm shelter."

I shook my head. "You don't need a storm shelter, and we don't need to go to the safe spot. We will only move if we hear an actual tornado. Our weatherman is kind of dramatic."

She jumped after a loud clap of thunder and scrambled into my arms, burying her head into my neck. Her arms wrapped around me tightly, and I had no choice but to grasp her as well. A second later, the power went out.

Instinctively, one of my hands reached up and threaded through her shiny brown hair. I rarely got the chance to touch it, but each time I was amazed at how silky it felt. I couldn't help myself—I dug deeper, tugging at the pure silk. Then, I released my hand and let her hair run through my fingers. I was getting so lost in the sensation that I almost missed the small noise she made. It sounded like a moan and a whimper, and it nearly undid me.

The air escaped my lungs in a whoosh. I had to have some contact with her, so I lowered my head and kissed her hair softly. In doing this, I inhaled the intoxicating scent of strawberries and freesias. She seemed to relax into me, and suddenly we were closer than we'd ever been. I could feel her breathe and I was suddenly very aware of the way she was affecting me.

At that same moment, there was a loud rush of wind that blew the hail harder against the windows, and her tiny body stiffened in my arms. I loosened my arms around her reluctantly, but her grip never changed.

"His name was Jacob," she said so quietly I almost missed it. I had to strain to hear her speak. "I've known him for as long as I can remember. He's a family friend, and I spent a lot of time in Forks so of course we were close."

I sat up straighter so that I could see her face; she looked pained.

"I'm older than him, so maybe that explains it."

**BPOV**

For as long as I could remember, I had been afraid of thunder storms.

Maybe it had to do with my fear of the dark, because every time a heavy storm ripped through the small town of Forks our small house's electricity would go out. Or possibly my fear of loud noises; it took ages for me to enjoy fireworks, and I still managed to jump every time a balloon popped.

Regardless of the cause, my fear of storms had finally blessed me for once in my life, because now instead of being curled up beside my father in an old house shrouded in darkness, I was in Edward's arms. A fair upgrade, I had to admit. Especially since Charlie was not on the top of my list at the moment.

There was something that happened the moment Edward ran his fingers through my hair; I couldn't help the sound that left my lips. His soft touch seemed to relax my body so I was curled into him rather than perched stiffly on his lap. It seemed natural to lay my head on his shoulder and place my arm around his neck; to feel his arms wind around my waist automatically.

And then he had kissed the side of my head. The feeling of his lips on my hair would be forever engrained in my memory, the light smacking sound his lips made when they parted ringing throughout the room, even over the raging storm outside.

Right at that moment, I knew I was ready to tell Edward about everything. My heart was screaming at me to let it all out, to finally allow Edward in to the part of me I had blockaded for the last several months. My head was singing a completely different tune; telling me that Edward would agree with Jacob…That he would find marriage to be absolutely ridiculous and tell me I was cold hearted to leave Jacob the way I did. That I expected too much. That I wasn't worth it.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I began to speak. Softly at first, hoping that maybe he wouldn't hear me.

"His name was Jacob." I could feel Edward strain his neck slightly to hear what I said, so I cleared my throat and tried to speak louder for his benefit. I was so nervous that my voice still came out only just above a whisper.

"I've known him for as long as I can remember. He's a family friend, and I spent a lot of time in Forks so of course we were close."

Edward pulled back from me, meeting my eyes for a moment before I buried my face in his neck.

"I'm older than him, so maybe that explains it."

Edward was silent, rubbing a soothing hand up and down my back in slow circles until I gathered the rest of my thoughts.

"We were friends for as long as I could remember. The summers I would spend with Charlie in Forks were mostly spent at the beach with Jacob and his father. Sometimes Billy and Charlie would go fishing and Jacob and I would sit in the back of the boat and play with the bait. I was never much of a girly child...Not when I was with Charlie."

I felt Edward chuckle slightly and I allowed myself a tight smile before I continued.

"When I moved in with Charlie my junior year of high school I spent almost every weekend with Jacob, helping him fix up old cars. Mainly I watched, because Jacob swore I would end up breaking my skull or cutting off a limb if I actually tried to use any of the tools. He was just a friend to me; someone I could spend time with comfortably and wouldn't ask anything of me. I went away to school for four years. When I came home for holidays Charlie would always insist it be just the two of us, so I never really saw him then."

The hard part was nearing, and I could feel the tears stinging my eyes before I even opened my mouth. Edward, as if sensing I needed more support, wrapped his arms tighter around me and pressed his chin to the top of my head, surrounding me with his warmth.

"I decided to come back and teach in Forks once I graduated, so I packed everything up and moved home from California. My first day back in town, before I even made it back to my house to see Charlie, I ran into Jacob at the grocery store. I still don't know why he was there, since it was so far away from his house. Either way, he was completely different than I had remembered him."

I remembered how surprised I had been to see him. How he had grown over a foot since I had seen him last. How his hair that was once long and smooth was suddenly chopped short against his head. How his arms had doubled in size.

"I'll spare you the gory details. Let's just say he looked…much better."

Edward sighed. I wasn't sure if it was in relief that I wasn't being so specific about Jacob's transformation or if it was because he knew what was coming.

"Charlie and my mom were thrilled when we started dating; Charlie because he had always thought of Jacob as a son, and Renee because she had been begging me to get out and meet a boy for ages. I told Jacob from the beginning that I wanted a family; that I loved teaching younger children but I couldn't wait to have kids of my own. He would always tell me he wanted more time to 'be young', whatever that meant. It's not like he could go out and meet girls, because he was with me."

I sighed and reluctantly pushed away from Edward's chest, wanting to truly share the final part of my story with him in every way, not as muffled words into his neck. My heart began to pound, my brain's fears finally catching up and making me question my sanity with confiding in Edward.

"It got to the point where we were having the marriage conversation every few months. Jacob insisted that he just wanted to make sure we were right for each other. After five years together, half of that time spent living under the same roof, I was pretty sure I was ready to spend the rest of my life with him. I couldn't see why he didn't feel the same way. He insisted he wasn't ready to get married…that he never would be. So…I left. He knew from the beginning that I wanted to be married…that I wanted a family."

I sighed, crawling off of Edward's lap to the other side of the couch, feeling a strange sense of guilt at being wrapped in another man's arms while I was shedding tears over my lost love. His arms dropped to his lap with a soft thud and he kept his eyes turned downward, watching his fingers wring together.

"I had this silly life plan. I wanted to be married by 23…a mother by the time I was 25, if not sooner. And every day that Jacob refused to get married was another day scratched off of the calendar. Another day closer to me turning 25 and not having either of my goals met. I knew it was crazy to have my life planned out in such a way, but the fact that Jacob was adamant about not going any further with our relationship hurt me more than I realized. Until finally I had enough. I had spent five years trying to change his mind, and I wasn't going to waste any more time."

Edward was watching me now through cautious eyes, and I found myself unable to break eye contact with him as I rushed through the rest of my confession.

"So…I left. I just packed everything up and I applied for the job here and moved within a week. I was ready to get away, and there was no way I could avoid him if I stayed in Forks. He tried calling a few times after I moved, but he eventually gave up. And, now he's with someone else, and Charlie invited both of them to Thanksgiving. What made him think I would want to spend a family holiday with _him_? And his girlfriend?"

I felt myself getting angry again, so I took a few calming breaths before I dared to look at Edward again. I hadn't realized my hands had started shaking until Edward took them in his own to steady their quaking.

"Bella?"

Edward's voice was hushed but it was enough to pull me from my thoughts and remind me of the raging storm outside. A loud rumble of thunder sounded and I fought the urge to lean closer to Edward's warmth. I had to know what he thought first.

"I don't blame you for leaving," he said softly. My mouth fell open and I stared at him.

"What? Really?"

"Yes, really," Edward responded, laughing lightly at the shocked expression on my face. "He knew from the start that you wanted a family and he strung you along but didn't want to give anything to you in return."

I nodded, realizing how pathetic my story sounded when leaving the mouth of someone else. "I gave him everything I had…"

"I think he is an idiot."

I couldn't help the harsh laugh that left my mouth as I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, right."

"I do, Bella. You are an amazing woman. Any man who would not want to marry you is completely clueless, in my opinion. You have a huge heart; you are so kind to everyone, unless they give you a genuine reason not to be…You teach children for a living, which is unbelievable in my mind because you have so much patience with them."

My heart was pounding in my chest as Edward kept naming detail after detail about my life that made me "marriage material" and I couldn't help but wonder if they were _his_ criteria, or men in general.

"You are incredibly smart," he continued, "But not in an intimidating kind of way. You're mysterious and witty and sarcastic, and I love just sitting and talking to you because I never know what is going to come out of that cute little mouth of yours."

He was looking outside now, his eyes unfocused as he watched the rain. I wondered if he even knew what he was saying. There was no doubt in my mind that he meant it, and the fact that he was speaking so truthfully took my breath away.

"You love children and you would make a great mother one of these days. Just watching you with Lilly shows me that. You're just…perfect."

That last statement seemed to pull Edward from his thoughts and he turned to look at me, his green eyes shining.

"You're perfect," he whispered, running his fingers through my hair and cupping my cheek in his palm.

Tears that I didn't know had fallen were being wiped from my cheeks by Edward's thumbs while his eyes never left mine.

Nothing felt more perfect at that moment than Edward's arms wrapped around me, or his lips against my hair as he whispered sweet things to me to calm my tears.

"Shh, Bella. It's okay. He's gone. He made his choice, and lost one of the best things that ever happened to him. And that is something that he is going to have to live with, because there is no way I—I mean _we_—will give you back now."

I pulled away sniffed loudly, causing myself to blush as I wiped my eyes. "Are you just saying all of these things so I'll stick around for another 17 years and we can get married?"

A strange expression crossed his face before his mouth spread into a wide grin.

"Maybe…And Alice would be heartbroken if her new best friend suddenly disappeared."

"Ha, ha," I laughed humorlessly and shoved against him to slide off of his lap. His hands gripped my arms quickly, halting my movements. The smile fell from my face as my eyes met his serious expression.

"Seriously, Bella. You deserve so much more than what he gave you. Trust me."

The air around us was suddenly thick as our gazes remained connected. The thunder rolled outside but for once in my life I was not affected by it. I was too enthralled in the man sitting across from me.

His eyes flitted from my eyes to my lips and my breath caught in my throat. I knew what was about to happen, and I was terrified, but there was no way I was going to stop him.

My eyes fluttered closed as he started to lean towards me, his gaze fixed on my lips. I could feel his breath mingling with mine, and it wouldn't have surprised me if he were to comment on how loud and fast my heart was pounding.

His lips were soft when they brushed against mine, and I sighed. He continued to shower my face with small kisses, my cheeks, my eyelids, my chin, before returning to my lips and lingering for a few moments.

It had been months since I had even thought of kissing anyone…Years since I had kissed a new pair of lips, and I was in heaven. Edward's short, sweet kisses had my head spinning.

He pulled away slowly, kissing my lips once more before smiling at me and tucking me into his side. I sighed softly; amazed that he knew exactly what I needed. He knew not to push me, not to expect too much, and that set my heart at rest.

**EPOV**

I kissed Bella. _I_ kissed Bella. I kissed _Bella._I _kissed_ Bella.

And, oh God, it was amazing.

I never expected her to tell me about Jacob. Not tonight, at least. I'd been curious for months, especially after seeing the pained look on her beautiful face whenever she thought about him. She told me about how she'd waited patiently for him to commit to her, and he refused to give himself to her. The only thing that kept me from jumping on a plane to Washington and pummeling Jacob in the face was the beautiful woman sitting on my lap, spilling her deepest heartbreak to me.

Jacob, you stupid, stupid man.

Bella was everything I wanted in a wife. I knew that if I walked into our house and demanded dinner, she would raise her eyebrow, push me away, and steal the remote control. I was okay with that. I loved that she knew how to put me in my place. I loved that she could say something intelligent and quirky at the same time. I loved everything she did, because it was always unpredictable.

I love her.

She shifted in my arms and nuzzled my neck, but I couldn't register her presence. My mind was swimming.

In seconds, my world had changed. I was rooted to the ground by one thing: Bella. I was done trying to romance her or tempt her or hit on her. My sole mission in life was to protect her. As I realized this, I pulled her closer to me, fitting her as tight against my body as I could. It felt right.

"You're so amazing," I breathed, partially to myself. She sighed contently. "I appreciate you telling me that."

"It feels better now that you know," she admitted.

"Do you want to know why I'm a Masen?" I asked.

She lifted her head and rested her forehead against mine. "Only if you want to tell me."

"I was born in Chicago to an Edward and Elizabeth Masen. I weighed nine pounds, actually." I grinned to myself. "I was named after my father, obviously."

"So technically you're Edward Jr.?" She asked, stifling a laugh into my neck.

"If you call me Junior, I'll call you Isabella," I threatened.

"Fine, fine. Continue, please," she said.

I ran my fingers through her silky hair, smiling as she relaxed in my arms. "I don't remember much about my parents. I was three when they died. They were at dinner, celebrating their anniversary. It was icy and windy, and they lost control of their car. My dad died instantly, but my mom made it to the hospital before she passed away from massive internal injuries."

Bella whimpered my name and ran her hand along my chest.

"Carlisle is technically my uncle, but I've known them both as Mom and Dad for a while. My mom begged Carlisle to take care of me if something were to happen to them. They decided it would be better for me to stay Masen, so that I would always have my real parents with me."

"Are you…" Bella bit her lip. "Are you okay?"

I chuckled. "I've gotten over it. I wasn't orphaned or left with negligent guardians. Carlisle and Esme are, for all intents and purposes, my father and mother. I've always thought of them that way."

She sat up and looked at me with a strange expression. It was actually a bit difficult to see her since the power was out, but I could tell that she was still biting her lip. Then, she bent down and kissed my lips very gently and quickly. It was over before I registered what was happening, but my lips tingled after she was gone.

"I'm glad you're okay," she breathed, settling back into my arms.

An hour later, we had located every candle in her house and placed them around the living room. The storm was raging on, and it appeared to have taken out a large tree branch in her front yard. I promised to help her cut it up and dispose of it the next day in exchange for her hospitality. Bella agreed to let me sleep on her sofa overnight, but she refused to let me go. She clung to me like a lifeline, and I was happy to oblige as such.

We sat in silence, and I didn't realize she was asleep until I heard her breathing change. Her head was on my chest, her arm draped around me. I grabbed the blanket she kept on the back of the sofa and draped it over us. I stretched forward and kissed her head, whispering an 'I love you' before nodding off with her.

* * *

_I'm in love with her. –E_

**You're in love with whom? –Alice**

_Bella. I'm in love with Bella._

**Yeah, I know. Why are you texting me at four in the morning to tell me something I already knew?**

_You KNEW?_

**Well, naturally. It's obvious.**

_Does SHE know?_

**Who, Bella? I seriously doubt it. Bella is painfully unobservant to some things…like her closet.**

_What am I supposed to do?_

**Nothing.**

_Nothing?_

**That's what I said. Nothing.**

_Alice!!!!_

**No need to use so much punctuation, Edward. It's a little early for that.**

_I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep. I'm with Bella right now._

**WHAT?! You're sleeping with her now?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!**

_No need to yell, little sister. It's not what you think. The Volvo died. I'm staying on her sofa._

**Oh, I remember Jazz saying something about the Volvo.**

_What am I supposed to do about being in love with Bella?_

**What you're doing right now. She'll realize it eventually.**

_You are absurdly unhelpful._

**You're the one that texted at this ungodly hour.**

_Sorry if I woke you._

**Oh, I wasn't asleep ;-)**

_Conversation terminated._

Okay, so.... Thoughts? :) Hit? Miss?


	16. Someone's Husband

Well hello all of you in WEMB land! First of all--I want to send out a big "I'M SORRY!" to everyone! I have had a case of epic computer fail for the last two months, not to mention a classroom full of students who drive me crazy.

To those of you who have PMed me--my computer failure prevented my response, but I appreciate your encouragement! Your messages always keep me going, and hopefully I will be able to keep in touch with you AMAZING readers better from now on!

And a HUGE thanks to Coldasicex3 for being the best co-author ever, who can swoop in and save the day when my computer decides to hate me.

Disclaimer: We don't own it....though we wish we did! No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

_"All I'm saying is that somewhere out there is the man you are supposed to marry. And if you don't get him first, somebody else will, and you'll have to spend the rest of your life knowing that somebody else is married to your husband."_

_--Marie, When Harry Met Sally__  
_

**BPOV**

"Yes, Alice," I sighed into the phone, "I'm wearing the new sweater you bought me…And the pants…Yes, the shoes too…No, I just decided to leave my hair down. Do not come over here to fix it, I will be at your parents' house in an hour…Don't plan on fixing it there either."

I couldn't help but smile as my best friend nearly growled at me over the phone. She mumbled something about Edward and hair clips, but the moment his name left her mouth my mind was somewhere else.

I was instantly thrown back to two nights before and all I could hear was his soft voice telling me I'm perfect. I could still feel the way his lips moved smoothly over my own and without realizing it I sighed into the phone again.

"Bella? Bella are you listening to me?'

A blush instantly spread across my face as I was shaken from my Edward dream land.

"Yes, I'm here. I'll be over soon, okay? I just have to make sure the pies are ready and pack everything into my car."

Slamming the phone shut, I placed it on the counter in the kitchen and braced myself in front of the sink. I closed my eyes and took a few deeps breaths, trying to prepare myself for seeing Edward for the first time since he left yesterday morning.

Waking up tangled together on the couch was an interesting experience, but enjoyable at the same time. It had been so long since I had woken up in someone's arms. And the fact that it was _Edward's_ arms that I was waking up in sent tingles all over my body. Of course, it didn't hurt that I was woken up by the feeling of his fingers gliding softly up my arm.

His movements ceased when my eyes opened and met his.

"Hey there," he spoke cautiously.

"Um…Hi. I mean—good morning." I smiled up at him shyly. He shot up and began folding the blankets we had used the night before.

"Did I wake you up? Did you sleep okay? I bet the couch was so uncomfortable. I didn't even think to move you to your room—"

"Edward!" I laughed as I stood up and took a blanket from his hands, placing it on the couch. "Take a breath, it's fine. I slept fine, it was time for me to get up anyway, and this is probably the most comfortable couch I've ever slept on. Relax."

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "Okay. Do you, um…want some breakfast or something?"

"That would be great. If you'll finish up in here, I'll go get the eggs and bacon out."

Edward nodded quickly and began straightening things up as I watched him for a few seconds. He seemed tense, which made me nervous. Did he regret what happened last night? Was it all in the heat of the moment? I decided I didn't want to know the answer… I would just act normal and he could bring it up when he was ready.

I had just placed the bacon into the frying pan when I heard Edward step into the kitchen. "I stacked the blankets on the arm of the couch, since I don't know where you keep them. And I took a peek out the window; it doesn't look like the storm did too much damage last night. I'll swing by this weekend and get some of the larger limbs out of the yard for you."

"Oh, thanks," I turned and smiled at him before facing the stove again as I started scrambling the eggs. "Could you get some glasses out of that cupboard and pour us some juice? I have orange and apple in the fridge."

In a few short minutes we were sitting across from each other; Edward was staring at his plate, pushing his eggs around with his fork, while I tried to figure out what was going on in his head.

"Edward—"

"Bella, I—…You first"

I smiled slightly, "I just wanted to say…well…Thank you. For staying last night. I really needed someone here, and…I'm glad you were that someone."

He blushed slightly and my heart raced, "It was the least I could do. You helped me out yesterday, too. Any time you need someone to distract you from a storm; I'd better be the first one you call."

Now it was my turn to blush. Were we actually going to talk about this?

"Okay…"

I waited for him to continue talking, our eyes locked.

"About last night…" My heart fell as he sighed and ran his hand through his hair again. "I don't want you to think I was taking advantage of the situation…You were hurting, and I reacted without thinking. I hope you won't hold it against me."

"Of course not, Edward," I said, reaching across the table and squeezing his hand. "You knew exactly what I needed. I'm glad you were here."

He smiled then, his first genuine smile of the day, and picked up his fork to begin eating. "Okay."

The rest of breakfast flew by and before I knew it, I was walking Edward to the door. He had called Jasper to pick him up after we finished eating and we heard his truck pull up just as Edward had placed the last of our dishes in the drying rack.

"I'll have Alice call you later today with details about dinner tomorrow. I hope you'll come early and spend the day with us. And bring a change of clothes, comfortable ones. We'll be out in the yard for most of the afternoon."

Out in the yard? What?

"Okay, thanks. I will."

"And, Bella?" he turned around on the porch, reaching for my hand as I stepped out of the house.

"Yes?"

"Just so you know…I meant everything I said last night. I'm glad you're here, and Jacob really is an idiot for letting you go."

I knew the smile that spread across my face was embarrassingly wide, but I couldn't help the joy that Edward's words had given me. He leaned over to place a quick kiss on my cheek before whispering, "And I really do think you're perfect."

My breath caught in my throat has he grinned at me and sauntered down the front steps towards Jasper's truck. I smiled at Jasper and waved as they backed out of the driveway before diving back in my house and picking up my phone to call Angela.

She answered on the first ring, "Well hello, my long lost best friend! Are you in town yet? I saw Charlie at the store the other day and he said you were coming in a day early."

"Hey, Angela. Listen, I've got some bad news. There has been a change of plans…I won't be making it home for Thanksgiving this year."

"What? Why?" I could hear the disappointment in her tone and I frowned. I missed Angela a lot and was really looking forward to seeing her again.

"Charlie thought it would be great idea to invite Jacob and his new girlfriend to Thanksgiving dinner."

"What!?" Angela shrieked into the phone, "I can't believe he would do that. He was so excited about you coming home."

"Well apparently he thought getting us together for Thanksgiving would help me realize my mistake and come home for good. It took all I had not to jump through the phone and strangle him."

Angela chuckled on the other end, "Well I'm glad you didn't do that. I can understand why you're not coming home. Have you talked to Charlie again yet?"

"No, he just called me yesterday. And most of that conversation was spent yelling. And poor Edward, he had to deal with my bad attitude the rest of the day."

"Wait…_Edward_? Was he with you when Charlie called?"

"I was going to pick him up because his car broke down. I had just gotten off the phone with Charlie when I saw him. He could tell something was wrong, but I didn't fill him in until we were back in my classroom."

"Oh, okay. Well, what are you going to do now?"

I bit my lip, knowing Angela would read too much into my new plans. "Edward invited me to have Thanksgiving dinner with his family, so I'll be heading over there."

"Oh _really_?"

"Yep," I tried to sound casual so she wouldn't get overly excited. "He mentioned this morning that I should bring an extra change of clothes because we'll be outside for most of the afternoon. I'm not sure what exactly he meant by that."

"When did you talk to him this morning?"

"He just left a few minutes ago." The words left my mouth before I had a moment to think about them and I closed my eyes tightly, waiting for Angela's reaction. The silence that I was met with had me on edge.

"Bella, have you been holding out on me?" she asked cautiously.

"No, nothing has happened. Well…okay, something kinda happened. That's why I was calling you."

I spent the next half hour filling Angela in on the previous night's events and analyzing every word that was said; something I would normally laugh at girls doing, but that didn't matter now. I needed to try and figure out what was going on in his head.

"Bella, I am so excited for you. You sound really happy. I'm glad you have Edward. He will be good for you."

"Wait a second, Angela. I don't _have_ Edward. Yes, he is my friend, and yes, he kissed me last night, but that doesn't mean I stake any claim over him. He was just comforting me when I needed it."

Angela sighed and I could tell she was getting frustrated with me, "Bella, men don't just go around telling women they are perfect and then kissing them."

"Really? Are you sure?"

She snorted through a laugh before recovering and answering my question, "Yes, I'm sure. I have to go finish making sure everything is ready for tomorrow. I expect a phone call with plenty of details tomorrow night!"

"Yes, ma'am," I laughed, hanging up and pulling a pad of paper off of my fridge. If I was going to go to attend a Cullen family Thanksgiving, I was going to be prepared. And I was _going_ to find out what Carlisle's favorite kind of pie was.

The timer going off on the oven pulled me out of my trance and I began flying around the kitchen, making sure the pies were cooling and all of my other dishes were covered before making my way back to my room. I was smoothing out my sweater for the last time when my phone chirped from my bed.

_Don't forget a change of clothes. And hurry up! Lilly can't wait to see you._

I smiled, glancing at my duffle bag with a change of clothes before typing a reply.

_Tell Lilly I am just about to leave. I will be there soon. :-)_

I had just made it back to my kitchen, duffle bag in hand, when my phone beeped again.

_Her Uncle can't wait either._

I let out a muted squeal as I smiled at my phone before sending a message back and filling my arms with pies to take out to the car.

_Tell him I will be there in 20 minutes. Time me…;-)_

* * * * *

Eighteen minutes later I was pulling into the Cullen's driveway. I was barely out of the car before a pair of arms wrapped tightly around my legs.

"Ms. Swan! You're finally here!"

"Well hello, Lilly! How are you doing?"

"Good! Uncle Eddie told me you would be here soon. We were waiting by

the door!"

"Oh you were? Well tell Uncle Eddie to come out and help me carry these pies in, please."

I looked towards the porch to see Edward poking his head out of the front door. His eyes widened when he saw he was caught, and he sheepishly opened the door. He recovered quickly and walked down the front steps to meet me at my car.

"You're early," he smiled.

"Well you would know. Waiting by the door?" I teased.

"What can I say? Lilly was that excited."

"But, Uncle Eddie, you said you wanted to—" Lilly was cut off by Edward lifting her up and swinging her small frame over his shoulder.

"That I wanted to make sure we were here to help you bring everything inside." Edward finished, laughing as Lilly squirmed in his arms. "What can

I grab?"

I eyed him skeptically but motioned to the pies in the back seat anyway. He placed Lilly right side up again and she grabbed my hand.

"Come on, Ms. Swan! Mommy said to bring you straight inside when you got here."

Suddenly a vision of Alice upstairs wielding a curling iron in one hand and hair spray in another crossed my mind. Oh dear…

Esme intercepted Lilly's path as we walked through the front door. "Bella, it's so nice to see you again! I'm glad you could share the holiday with us this year."

"Thanks, Esme. I really appreciate you inviting me. Edward is bringing a few pies in behind me."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I heard Edward walking up the porch steps behind me. "Mom, where do you want these?"

"Just put them on the counter, dear. If you two will excuse me, I need to go out back and help Carlisle with the turkey."

She left the room quickly and I took a moment to look around the rest of the house. Jasper and Emmett were sitting in the living room watching a pre-game show on the TV while I could see Rosalie standing on the back deck with Esme and Carlisle. Alice was nowhere to be seen, which most likely meant my previous vision was accurate.

"I am so glad you brought the pies. I have been dying to taste your apple pie again ever since you came for dinner a few weeks ago—" Edward's words were cut off as he opened up the first pie container. I had to hold in my giggle at the shocked look on his face.

"Pecan pie?"

"Yes, your mother let me know that it is Carlisle's _actual_ favorite."

"Are they _all_ pecan?" I could see the desperation in his eyes, and I had to smile. Only on Thanksgiving could a man be brought to his knees by a slice of pie.

"No, there is a pumpkin pie in there as well."

"Oh…" his face fell.

"Edward," I said, pulling his attention from the pies as he started at them dejectedly. I motioned with my head to my right hand that held one last pie container. "You didn't really think I wouldn't make you my apple pie, did you?"

A smile spread across his face and he laughed, "That was mean."

"So is lying about your father's favorite pie just so you can have yours."

He took two steps toward me, his eyes shining with a glint of mischief. "Okay, I'll give you that. But I'm going to get you for this."

"H-how?" I asked, leaning back against the counter as he made his way across the kitchen. He didn't speak again until he was right in front of me, leaning against the counter with one hand on either side of my body.

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see," he said softly. My mind immediately flew back to the night of the thunderstorm when he had kissed me. I knew this feeling. I barely registered what was happening before I felt his lips brush against mine.

My hands came up to rest on his hips as he pressed further into me, his small pecks running together until they became one long kiss. I had completely forgotten where we were until a small voice echoed throughout the kitchen.

"Uncle Eddie, you have to come out side! Grandpa is—oh!"

Instantly, Edward was across the room, running his fingers through his hair and watching Lilly. Her face held a smile nearly as wide as she was.

"Lilly, what did you say Grandpa was doing? Let's go outside and you can show me before the _tickle monster_ comes to get you!" Edward ducked down on her level, chasing her out of the room with his arms stretched in front of him, his fingers wiggling and threatening to tickle the poor child unless she ran as fast as she could. I caught his eye before he rounded the corner into the living room, giving him a slight smile as I stood in the kitchen completely stunned.

"There you are!" Alice's exclamation jarred me out of my stupor and I spun around to face her in the doorway.

"Hey!" I shouted, both startled and determined not to give Alice any clue of what had just transpired between her brother and me. "Um…sorry. I was getting the pies settled."

She squinted her eyes at me, surely suspicious of my flushed cheeks and heavy breathing.

"Okay, well…Did Lilly tell you to come upstairs? I want to fix your hair a little bit…but, you know what? It looks fine. And it will probably get messed up when we play football later so just don't worry about it, okay?"

"Football?"

Alice turned around in the doorway and grinned at me, "Yes. Football."

As Alice strolled out of the kitchen I allowed myself a moment to reflect on the last ten minutes. Edward had kissed me…again. And if Lilly hadn't walked in we probably would STILL be kissing…which Alice would have seen and then everything would be—Oh my gosh.

Lilly.

Lilly walked in on me kissing Edward…What was she going to think now?

I groaned and rested my head in my hands as I leaned on the counter, my mind running wild with images of Lilly running around the playground kissing different boys because Ms. Swan did.

"Ugh," I grunted again before removing my head from my hands and standing up to smooth out my sweater. I had just gotten my clothes back in place and my hair tucked behind my ears when Lilly ran back into the kitchen.

"Ms. Swan! Auntie Rose wanted me to tell you to come outside and sit with us."

"Oh, okay," I smiled at her, studying her carefully to see if she noticed anything was different. She glanced sideways at me before skipping ahead.

"Hey, Lilly," I called out to her as she reached the back door, "You know, when we're not at school you can call me Ms. Bella. I have a feeling we'll keep hanging out a lot. Is that okay with you?"

Her face brightened and she clapped her hands in excitement, "Ooh yes!"

"Great!" I said, grasping her small hand in mind, "Now, let's see what everyone is doing outside!"

**EPOV**

"Fuck, Emmett," I swore loudly. I rarely swore, mostly because of Lilly and the fact that my mother was known for twisting ears when she heard. I was pretty clean when it came to my vocabulary, but the present situation called for that particular word. Emmett had tackled me, his massive shoulder digging into my side. He pushed the air out of my lungs, and it all came out as a profanity.

As a consequence, the NFL sized football fell from my hands and bounced onto the ground, causing a frenzy of action. I could hear Jasper swear under his breath, and Alice looked disappointed. Rosalie ran past them in a streak of gold, scooping down to pick up the ball. I had already given up at that point.

"Bella!" Rose shouted, catching the attention of Bella, who was standing down field. Bella was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, with the legs rolled up to just below her knees. It was in the high fifties that day, but with all the running, no one felt cold.

Rosalie threw the ball into the air, flying straight to Bella. Bella jogged backward, bracing herself for impact. To everyone's surprise—especially mine—she caught the ball after juggling it for a moment. It was the first time she had touched the ball throughout the entire game. She wasn't on my team, unfortunately. Emmett and I were team captains, and he'd chosen Bella before I had a chance. Every year on Thanksgiving, Emmett was my biggest rival. I was faster, but he was bigger. I was trickier, and he was stronger. So when it was my turn, I picked Alice, the most dangerous player out of all of us. Emmett chose Rosalie, and I got Jasper. It worked out to my advantage, actually, because we were winning by a touchdown.

At least, we were until Emmett tackled me and Rosalie shot a Hail Mary straight to Bella, which she miraculously caught after many failed attempts earlier in the game.

"Run, Bella, run!" Emmett boomed, still crushing me into the ground with his massive build. I could barely breathe now.

Alice crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. "Trip, Bella, trip," she mumbled under her breath, low enough for me to hear and hiss in laughter.

Then, the weight was lifted off of me and oxygen coursed through my lungs. I didn't get to enjoy it long. I sighed heavily when I heard Emmett yell, "Touchdown, bitches!"

"Edward!" Bella squealed, running at me clutching the football in her hands. I stood up slowly, dusting off my jeans. The dry leaves swirled around us. She stopped in front of me and held out the ball to me. "Edward, I caught it! I've never caught a football in my life!"

"'Atta girl," Emmett said, slinging an arm around her shoulder. Rosalie stood on her other side, smiling at me smugly. Bella looked to me for praise, but I was interrupted by Alice clapping her hands impatiently.

"Enough of that. Back to the game. Kick it off, Em." She gave Bella a vengeful glare. Alice hated to lose.

As we separated, Bella leaned in close. "Is Alice mad at me?"

I chuckled. "Just stay out of her way and you'll be fine. I warned you before; Alice is brutal."

"Get to work, ladies!" Alice shouted in our direction.

"Gotta' go," I said to Bella, running towards my teammates.

Jasper took off his hat, ran a hand through his hair, and then put his hat back on. He bent over, his hands on his knees. "What's our game plan?"

"Edward runs," Alice said quickly. I didn't bother to dispute her. "Jasper covers Emmett, I'll get Rose."

"What about Bella?" I asked. I looked up to see them huddling at the other end of the field with Rosalie and Emmett. Even from a distance, I could tell she was having fun. Her expression radiated joy.

Alice shook her head and smacked me in the back of the head. Her wedding band made it even more painful. I winced and shoved her away. "You have to outrun Bella, which shouldn't be a problem. Unless you plan on flirting with her while you're running."

"Alice," Jasper chided. He gave me a sad look, as if he were apologizing for my sister.

"No, Jasper," she said, pushing him away. "He's been making eyes at her all day. I love Bella, don't get me wrong, but this is causing us to _lose the game!_"

I chuckled with Jasper. "It's not about winning, Alice," I said. "It's supposed to be fun."

"Oh shut up," she snapped. "They're getting ready to kick the ball. Let's go."

Emmett was punting, of course. Rosalie did occasionally, but she didn't have the power that Emmett did. And I wasn't sure Bella could even kick the ball ten yards.

The ball flew in the air after a loud thud, and soared above some of the tallest trees in the field. It was coming straight towards me. I was already crouched to run when it fell into my hands, and my feet dug into the ground with incredible speed.

Rosalie came for me first. She was a former Division I soccer player, so she could run all day without feeling tired. However, I was faster and Alice was right behind me, attaching herself to Rosalie as I flew past.

Emmett was next. He was charging at me, and I knew that he would tackle me if Jasper wasn't around. I didn't dare risk a glance over my shoulder. It turns out I didn't have to, because Jasper streaked past me and tackled Emmett's torso, taking him by surprise and knocking him down.

_Home free_, I thought. At least, until I saw Bella start to run. I'd been running a straight line before, but now I realized I had to juke to avoid Bella. It would throw her off, I knew it would.

It did. She ran right with me, and I spun left. She nearly tripped over herself, and I was clear. A full one hundred yard touchdown. I slammed the ball down once I crossed our imaginary end-zone. I heard Alice cheer.

We were winning again.

"Flag!" Emmett yelled, looking outraged. "Holding on the offense! Fifteen yard penalty!"

"Oh hell no," Alice swore. That surprised me. Alice never swore. "You can't call that on us when you did the same thing, only worse!"

Bella ran up to where we all were standing. "She's right," she said quietly. "I practically clung to Alice earlier."

Emmett looked like someone had taken away his candy.

Suddenly, a small figure dashed across the field. Alice composed her face, and Jasper straightened up. As the figure came closer, we realized it was Lilly. She was running from the house, and I could see my mom and dad standing from the back porch watching her. When my mom and dad decided to move, they found a house with a large field as the backyard. The field was actually reserved by the golf course that was located a few blocks over, so no homeowners could build on it. It was very convenient, especially on Thanksgiving when we had our football tournaments.

"Momma, Daddy!" She yelled. She was wearing a brown skirt with white tights and brown boots, but that didn't stop her from running full speed. "Nana says dinner's ready!"

She ran directly into Jasper's arms, who then picked her up and put her on her hip. "Okay, darlin'," he said, not looking anything like the raging football machine he was. "We'll head on in."

Alice smiled lovingly and began walking away with Jasper. She turned to us quickly and said in a low voice, "This isn't over."

"Of course not. You haven't lost," Rosalie retorted. The women glared at each other. It only happened once a year, and any other time, Alice and Rosalie were best of friends. Not today.

Bella attached herself to my side, breathing heavily. She wiped her face with her wrist and pushed a few loose strands of hair out of her face.

"Is it always this…intense?" She asked me, gesturing to the open field behind us.

"Usually. There was one year when Lilly had the flu, and all of us decided to stay inside with her."

We walked inside behind Rosalie and Emmett, and instantly, the smell of turkey hit our senses like a thousand pounds. My stomach growled; I hadn't eaten all day because of this. No one could cook a better Thanksgiving meal than Carlisle and Esme.

Bella licked her lips in anticipation, and suddenly, I couldn't focus on anything else but her mouth. I'd taken advantage of her upon her arrival, but she didn't complain. I was so certain that things would have escalated had we not been interrupted by Lilly. I hadn't planned on kissing her, but she looked so beautiful with her hair down around her shoulders and her cheeks rosy. This kiss was different from the other night because Bella actually gravitated toward me; her hands found my hips and she started to pull me closer. And then I had to back away from her when Lilly came in, because I was quite certain I would do something inappropriate…

A hand ran through my hair, and my attention snapped to Bella. She was holding out a plate to me with one hand while the other rubbed circles on my scalp. "Hey, Edward," she teased. "Where did you just go? Dreamland?"

I grabbed the plate from her and leaned my head into her hand. "Yeah, I suppose."

"Eddie, Eddie, Eddie!" Lilly squealed. "It's time for dinner!"

With that, all of us gathered into a line in the kitchen, with Emmett at the head and Bella at the rear. Rosalie smacked Emmett when he began piling food onto his plate, and Alice jutted out her hip and pointed at him accusingly.

When Bella and I finally sat down with a decent amount of food on our plates, she leaned into me and said, "I love this family."

I chuckled. "Don't worry. You'll be a part of it soon. We are, after all, engaged."

"Don't let Alice hear you say that," she warned me.

"Hear you say what?" My sister asked, dancing her way into the room and looking at us suspiciously.

Crap.

**BPOV**

Oh, no.

"Nothing, Alice," I managed to say after blushing madly and feeling my throat close up. Edward looked just as tense as I did. He kept shooting sideway glances at me, which I thought was strange. Alice was _his_ sister – shouldn't he be more seasoned when it came to dealing with her.

"We were just discussing how your Porsche isn't the most mommy-like vehicle," Edward lied smoothly. We both visibly relaxed as Alice's face contorted into rage.

"My Porsche is absolutely safe," she argued. "I never take it up to its potential speed with Lilly in the car, and you know it."

Alice brushed past us while mumbling about how her Porsche was a great car to have. Edward and I looked at each other and began laughing like a bunch of teenagers caught doing something by their teacher.

Dinner was amazing. The turkey, which sat in the middle of Esme's huge antique mahogany table, was a golden brown color and still retained its juiciness. Even after cooking Thanksgiving dinner for Charlie for the better part of ten years, I could never master the art of the turkey.

Thinking about Charlie made a lump rise in my throat, and I had to swallow it before Edward noticed. I should be in Forks. I should be doing dishes while my dad complains that he ate too much and watches the football game.

Lost in my own train of thought, I noticed Lilly staring at me and Edward very intently. I wasn't the only one who noticed, either – even Alice had her head cocked to the side in confusion of her daughter's attention.

Lilly's head snapped away from us and to Emmett and Rosalie. Emmett was piling a mountain of turkey onto his plate while Rosalie shook her head in disapproval.

"I don't get it," Lilly finally said.

"Don't get what, sweet pea?" Jasper asked, scooping a few carrots onto her plate.

Her little head swung between Rosalie and Emmett and me and Edward. "Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmy are married, right?"

Rosalie smiled. "Yes, honey. Why?"

"And mommy and daddy are married, too." Lilly had her index finger on her mouth as if she was thinking really hard.

Jasper and Alice nodded slowly.

"And grandma and grandpa. They're married, too!"

Carlisle and Esme looked up and gave Lilly a loving smile.

"Uncle Emmy, Aunt Rose. Nana Esme, Papa Carlisle. Mommy, Daddy. Uncle Eddie, Aunt Bella!" She clapped her hands happily at her logic. I was glad she was pleased with herself, because all I could feel was the blood slowly drain from my face and the turkey rumble around in my unhappy stomach.

Aunt Bella.

_Aunt_ Bella.

She was implying that Edward and I were married. How ironic that a first grader thinks me and a man I've known since August should be married, yet my own ex-boyfriend of five years refused to even consider proposing.

"Oh, honey," Alice said quickly, looking between Edward and I apologetically. I risked a glance beside me to see what Edward's face looked like. His fork had stopped mid-air, and the scoop of stuffing was only inches from his lips. "Edward and Bella aren't married. They're just—"

"Friends," I said frantically. "Sweetie, we're just friends."

Lilly looked confused. "But I saw…" She trailed off.

"Lil," Edward said, his voice smooth and controlled. "You're just confused because I spend a lot of time with Miss Bella. She's my best friend. One of these days, you'll have a best friend that's a boy."

Her little nose crinkled. "Ew, I hate boys."

Jasper patted his daughter on the head. "Good. Keeping hating boys until you're thirty, okay?"

Lilly saluted. "Okay, daddy!"

The table conversation drifted away from Lilly's mistaken comment, but that was all I could think about. I fed myself out of habit, and I had to forcefully swallow the food and chase it down with apple cider. Edward didn't look at me that often, but I felt his hand rest on my knee and give it a small squeeze. I was grateful for the fact that he wasn't mortified like I was. In fact, he seemed totally at ease with Lilly's mistake.

"Esme," I said once everyone was finished eating and she began carrying the food back to her kitchen. "Please let me help you."

"Oh, don't be silly! Go have a slice of pie and finish your football game." She lowered her voice and leaned closer to me. "Don't think that Alice will forget. She never forgets, and she's completely unsympathetic to a post-dinner stomach ache."

**EPOV**

- Hide quoted text -

_Are you awake? –E_

**I am now. Thanks. –B**

Sorry, sorry. Go back to sleep.

**Too late now. What's on your mind?**

_You._

I blinked and looked down at my phone. The gears in my head didn't comprehend things at two in the morning very well. I didn't even think about my answer until it was already sent off into cyber land. My heart raced as I realized how forward my answer was. It didn't help that Bella took longer than ever to respond.

My phone vibrated, and I practically dropped it in anticipation.

**I was thinking about you, too.**

_Oh? What about me?_

**About how I'm going to need you this weekend.**

I rolled over onto my back and reread the message. Perhaps it was too early in the day to make connections in my mind.

_I'm lost._

**I put up my Christmas decorations the week after Thanksgiving. I need my big, strong man to help me.**

I received that text message at ten o'clock that morning. I didn't remember falling asleep, but I felt horrible for doing so. I knew that Bella tended to over think things, and I didn't want her to see my not responding as a bad thing.

After I dragged myself out of bed and performed my morning rituals, I dialed Bella's phone number as my coffee brewed. When she answered, it sounded like utter chaos.

"Hello?" I asked, unsure if Bella could even hear me.

"Hey," she said breathlessly. Then, there was a loud shriek. "Oh, no," Bella mumbled.

It was silent for a beat, and then I heard the unmistakable voice of my wonderful sister.

"Back away from the Wii," Alice growled, her words punctuated with certainty.

"Bella," I said into the phone. "Did my sister drag you to Black Friday sales?"

I heard her groan loudly. "Yes, Edward." She lowered her voice. "I'd only been asleep for two hours when she knocked on my door. It scared me to death. One second, I'm dreaming of you, and the next…"

"Wait," I interrupted, a smile on my face. "You were dreaming about me?"

"Don't flatter yourself," she said darkly. I could tell, however, that she was trying really hard to sound uncaring, and that she was most likely blushing. She sighed loudly. "When this is all over, I'm going home and taking a long nap."

I poured myself a cup of steaming hot coffee and began stirring in my two creams and two sugars. "You should stop by here and have a leftover turkey sandwich with me for lunch."

"And where does my nap fit in?" She asked wearily.

"I have a bed," I suggested.

"Edward Masen," she scolded, laughing into the phone. "Are you trying to seduce me?"

I sipped my coffee slowly. "Of course not. I'm merely implying that you could use my bed for your nap _and_ have lunch with me."

She let out a wistful moan. "That sounds wonderful."

"I'll even compromise," I said, not wanting to pass up the opportunity of having Bella in my bed, even if it meant I wasn't allowed to touch her. "Come over, eat and sleep, and then we'll go to your place and put up Christmas decorations."

"You put up a good argument, Masen," she said. There was a loud commotion in the background, and I could hear my sister arguing with someone heatedly. "Oh, God," Bella moaned. "Get me out of here."

About an hour later, Alice's yellow Porsche blazed down my street and into my drive way. Her window was rolled down and she glared at me as Bella climbed hastily out of the passenger seat.

"I'm missing big sales right now because of you two," she said angrily. At a second glance, I could see that her trunk was slightly open, being held together by two pieces of rope.

"What did you buy that was worth waking up at four in the morning?" I asked as I gave Bella a one-armed hug.

Alice narrowed her eyes at me. "Never you mind." Without a goodbye, she threw the car into reverse and drove off madly. I was glad Lilly was safe at home with Jasper.

Bella and I walked inside where I had two turkey sandwiches waiting for us. She sat down and leaned her head back, closing her eyes and breathing slowly.

I stood behind her and her head rested on my stomach. She looked up at me with red eyes, and I couldn't help but stroke her hair.

"Eat first," I urged her. "Then you can sleep."

She nodded and picked up her sandwich. We ate in silence for the next five minutes. All I could focus on was her lips as she chewed. I was truly a sick man. Thanksgiving was supposed to be a holiday celebrating family and togetherness…and all I could think about was the kiss we shared in my mom's kitchen. The kiss that I had practically stolen. I'd never seen Bella look so stunned. Yet, she hadn't acted as if she was angry.

Bella kicked off her shoes and marched slowly to my room, not bothering to remove her sweatshirt. She pulled the covers back and crawled in my bed, blinking at me.

"Aren't you tired?" She asked quietly, getting comfortable. "I mean, you were up late, too…" She bit her lip.

I was shocked, and my mouth opened and closed at least ten times before I noticed her cheeks turn a vibrant red color.

"Are you sure?" I managed to choke out.

She nodded slowly and moved over to give me room. I climbed next to her, keeping my hands close to my body. In the end, however, it was Bella who rested her head on my chest and casually threw her hand over my chest. I finally loosened up and grabbed her hand, rubbing her knuckles with my thumb. She was asleep in minutes.

I wasn't so lucky.

As tired as I was, I couldn't turn my brain off. Bella's hair spilled over her shoulders and around her head, and it smelled like strawberries and freesias. My head was swimming. How cruel could the universe get? As hard as I try to respect Bella's space and boundaries, I find it increasingly difficult to stay away from her.

She stretched her fingers out and grasped my shirt, pulling herself closer to me. Her head was nestled almost directly under my chin. I bent down and pressed my lips to her silky smooth locks. She moaned contently and gripped my shirt even tighter.

I groaned quietly to myself. This was going to be the longest nap in history.

* * *

So there you have it! Let us know what you think!

What is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition?

Also--I've set up a twitter account (still trying to figure out how to use it, so if anyone can give me tips, let me know!) for WEMB so you can direct questions on there, and follow while we're working on updates! So, be sure to follow along!

Twitter: WEMBjliane

Talk to you soon!


	17. This Is Not About You

Hello All! I know, I know-it has been AGES since we updated. Sorry that we kept you waiting for so long! The real world is incredibly stressful-who knew that teachers had more homework than their students? Anyway, I'll let you get to it... See you down below!

Thanks to my awesome co-author coldasicex3 :)

* * *

**EPOV**

In retrospect, it was my own damn fault for being so tired.

I'd stayed up late talking to Bella, and even when I did sleep, she was all I could think about. So even though _my_ idea of taking a nap with Bella was a perfect way of catching up on my sleep, it completely and utterly failed.

I was painfully aware of every movement the girl made as she was sprawled out across my chest. She had been asleep for two hours, fifteen minutes, and thirty-seven seconds. After the first fifteen minutes went by, Bella shifted positions and her nose was in the crook of my neck. Five minutes later, she rolled over and made it too easy for me to wrap my arm around her stomach and pull her close to me. She stayed in that position for almost the entire time, much to my dismay.

It was never like this with Tanya. We met during finals week. Over Christmas break, we were practically inseparable. By New Year's, we'd slept together. By Valentine's Day, I was so sure I was going to propose to her one day. Ours was a passion that had been ignited so quickly, and completely influenced by endorphins. When we finally got used to each other and fell into a routine, it was almost like we were trying too hard to stay happy together.

Bella and I met in August. It was late November, and I was still just as drawn in.

As my mind ran wild with thoughts about Bella, she shifted slightly and let out a throaty moan, followed by something that literally stopped my heart.

"_Edward…"_

She said it with the same tone Jasper used with Alice when they were locked in their intense lovers' stare, something that everyone in the room would try to look away from due to the magnitude of their love for each other. A shiver crept down my spine. I never thought I would hear my name coming from Bella's lips in such a way.

But then her voice changed, and let out a strangled cry of pain when she said another name, one that almost caused me physical pain to hear.

"_Jacob._"

My mind was reeling. She was dreaming of that bastard, and his face cut me out completely. I hated Jacob. I wanted nothing more than to hop a plane to Washington and physically show him how much I detested him. And I was trying to tell myself that it wasn't because I was jealous that at one point in time, he'd gotten to hold Bella close to him and kiss her without reservation. Not only that, but I knew she once looked up at him with love and adoration and told him she loved him. But that wasn't what bothered me the most. Jacob had all of these things, and he still couldn't commit. Here I was, hopelessly in love with the most perfect woman I'd ever met, and she was still broken from her first love's inability to accept her forever.

No one said life was fair.

As if on cue, Bella stretched her body, raising her arms haphazardly above her head and very nearly punching me in the chin in the process. The groaned and unknowingly ground her back into me, causing me to bite my tongue to keep from making any sort of noise. She rolled over and looked at me, her eyes heavy with sleep.

"How long was I asleep?" She asked me, her voice quiet and throaty.

_Two hours, forty-two minutes, and ten seconds._ "A couple hours," I tried to answer nonchalantly. It didn't work, so I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to relax myself.

Bella smiled slightly and reached her hand up to touch my cheek. "You look terrible. Did you sleep at all?"

I tried not to concentrate on her touch. I tried not to think about the fact that she was inches away from me, and just a slight movement would connect our lips.

"I did," I lied. It almost sounded real, too.

"Mm." She smiled again, then sat up and stretched her arms above her head. Her shirt rose just a bit, but I tried not to pay attention.

"Will you meet me at my house later?" She asked, turning back to me.

I'm certain she could have asked me anything and I would have obliged, no matter what the request was. "Of course."

"It'll be so nice to have someone helping me with Christmas lights for once. Charlie was never home on a nice weekend, and Jacob only helped me the year I fractured my ankle."

"You fractured your ankle?" I asked, distracted by this tidbit. "How many bones have you broken, Bella?"

She waved her hand at me. "I've lost count." Bella swung her legs off the bed and stood up, arching her back in a stretch that probably wasn't meant to be seductive. "I tripped over a tree root."

Bella made her way to my bathroom and shut the door behind her, giving me a moment to myself. I needed it. I stood up and tried to reposition my clothes so that my reaction to her wasn't so obvious. Then, I realized that I should probably change out of my plain white shirt into a sweatshirt or something warm. This turned into a full-on change of clothes, and I prayed Bella didn't walk out of the bathroom while I had one leg through my jeans.

Just as I secured my belt buckle, Bella walked in the room with her hand in her hair. She stopped directly in front of me and raised an eyebrow at my appearance. "Well, aren't you beautiful after a two hour nap."

"Beautiful?" I echoed. I caught my reflection in the mirror. I had serious stubble growing in, and my hair looked like I'd chosen to sleep on my head. Bella was staring at me, too. Her eyes surveyed me as if I was a work of art – but, surely, that was due to her drowsiness.

Her cheeks were flushed. "I should get going. Meet you in a few hours?"

She tried to sneak past me, but I caught her and pulled her to my side, giving her a one-armed hug. "Sure."

We hugged properly, and she quickly walked to my front door. Her hand was on the doorknob when she turned and gave me a shy look. "Um," she began. "Alice dropped me off. I don't have my truck."

Two hours later, Bella was safely at home and I was braving the crowds at Home Depot to buy Christmas lights. It wasn't my idea of fun, but Bella had called me a short time ago claiming that her five boxes of one hundred-count lights weren't going to be enough.

"Bella," I said as gently as I could. "Just what are you planning to do?"

She sighed loudly into the phone. "Does it matter?"

I wandered around the store wondering if my sister had somehow possessed Bella and was now speaking through her. Alice had taken out the same frustration on me once when I went to the store for her.

Two minutes later, she sent me a text message.

**Get multi-colored, not white. –B**

I responded back with, _Yes, drill sergeant._

"We're losing sunlight!" Bella shrieked, pointing up at the cloudy gray sky.

After I bought her seven more boxes of lights, I stopped at the local Chinese food store and picked up our dinner. We sat on our porch with strings of lights around our feet, eagerly digging into sweet and sour pork and pepper steak. Even though it was freezing cold outside and there was a talk of freezing rain in the middle of the night, Bella insisted that lights had to be up before the sun went down, and the cold was not an issue. She dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans with dark brown combat boots. Her hair was spilling out of a beanie, and she wore thick black gloves as well. She looked beautiful.

The house was an A-frame, with two double glass doors and an enclosed porch with tons of windows. Her porch, in a sense, was almost a greenhouse. Her pre-lit Christmas tree was in the corner, but she hadn't fully decorated it yet. Her plan for the house included a wreath under the A-frame, and icicle lights hanging on the actual frame. She wanted to wrap every branch of her pear tree and decorate it with giant glass ornaments. She told me this very seriously, as if we were discussing life insurance or politics. I chuckled once at something she said, and she glared at me with a hatred she had to have learned from Alice.

While she wrapped the bushes in colored lights, I stood there with my arms crossed.

"What?" She asked as she caught me with a smirk on my face.

I shrugged. "You're very into this," I remarked.

She sent me a hard look. "Stop trying to tease me. Talk about something else."

I bent down and grabbed the three empty boxes. "Like what? I'm still trying to adjust to your enthusiasm for these Christmas lights. You're rivaling Alice."

This caused Bella to actually look at me in amazement. "I don't believe you."

"She does lights, but nothing like this. Jasper usually helps her, which means Lilly tries to join in."

Bella finished off one hedge and ran an extension cord to the other set. "Aw," she remarked. "Do they let Lilly put up lights?"

"Jasper holds her up and she strings the lights along the tree branches. She helps Alice set up the inflatable snow man."

She walked next to me and looked at her hedges. "Alice and Jasper are amazing parents to Lilly. Do they ever think about having more children?"

"It's a touchy subject. Lilly was such a big deal. Alice is tiny, and she inherited Esme's fertility problems…"I trailed off, feeling uncomfortable. "It was a shock that she got pregnant with Lilly in the first place."

Bella placed a hand on my arm and gave me a small smile. "But everything worked out in the end."

"It did," I agreed. "Alice just wants a houseful of children. Jasper, however, is terrified of another night like Lilly's birth."

"Maybe it won't be like that," Bella reasoned. "Obviously, Alice is a wonderful mother. How could the universe punish such a fantastic person like that?"

I shrugged; I'd often wondered the same thing.

Bella took a deep breath and took her hand back, much to my dismay. "Time to break out the ladder and do the pear tree," she said grimly.

Being taller than Bella, I was assigned to do the branches on the pear tree. Her ladder was old and wooden, and the ground was not all together level. I rocked back and forth a few times, trying to space out my balance with my legs. Bella handed me the roll of lights and I studiously wrapped them around every branch, just as she instructed. That didn't stop her from biting her lip and looking up at me with a disapproving stare.

"What?" I finally asked, the ladder rocking with my shift in weight.

"Nothing," she said while shaking her head. Her eyes flitted to the branch I was currently on. "It's just…" She bit her lip again. "You're not doing it right."

"Bella," I said as calmly as I could. "I've been wrapping it around just like you told me."

"But you have to wrap it tighter. It's too loose. It won't look good once it's lit up."

I sat the lights on a rung and jumped off the ladder, landing safely on my feet. "Alright, so does this mean I have to start over?"

Instead of answering me, she pulled off her gloves and began to climb the rungs of her rickety ladder.

"Bella—" I protested. "That ladder isn't safe." I instinctively stood behind her, holding my arms out so that she could climb back down.

"I'm fine," she snapped. The ladder rocked, and she froze. Then, very slowly, she grabbed the lights and began rewrapping a branch.

She extended her arms and started wrapping further than the ladder would allow her to go. It jolted to its right side, and Bella lost her balance. Three things happened at once.

One, the lights fell from the branch to the ground with a soft thud.

Two, the ladder's sudden movement caused Bella to shift all of her weight, and the ladder began to fall on its side.

Three, Bella screamed.

I didn't have time to think about catching her. I knew she was falling, and I knew that something would end up broken if I didn't save her. So, as the ladder fell and Bella pushed off with her feet, I held out my arms and broke her fall. She landed with her back to me, and my arms wound around her waist. She was clinging to me for dear life, and her breath was coming out in little white puffs. The impact forced me to take three steps back. I nearly tripped over a box of lights, but I recovered.

We stood in the yard, my arms wrapped tightly around her. I knew she was safe, but I made no attempt to let her go. She turned her head to the side and looked up at me.

"Thank you," she breathed. Our eyes locked, and I was suddenly very aware of what the cold weather had done to her lips. They were red and plump, more so than usual. Her breath smelled sweet, and it was intoxicating.

My eyes traveled down to her beautiful lips. It would be so easy. Just a few inches, and my lips would cover hers.

As if she could hear my thoughts, she suddenly sprang away from me, leaving a gaping void in my arms. "Hot chocolate?" She asked, her voice about three octaves higher than usual.

There were a thousand things I wanted to say at that moment. There was one thing I wanted to _do._ However, I forced my lips to form a small smile and said, "Sure."

She disappeared into the house like a startled fawn. Once she was safe inside, I smacked my forehead with my hand. "Idiot," I mumbled. "Stop forcing her."

I picked up the ladder and lined it up with the tree branch. I figured that if I finished the pear tree, there wouldn't be a chance of her climbing the ladder and falling into my arms again. I wasn't sure if I could handle another incident with her being that close. My self control was slipping every minute while I was around her. Bella Swan was like the finest brandy to a recovering alcoholic. I'd resisted for so long. I thought I'd never feel like this once Tanya left.

The pear tree was finished in my opinion, so I folded the ladder and put it against the garage door. Bella was taking her time in the kitchen. I needed to distract myself. I checked every cord and made sure it was plugged in to the main extension cord. Bella had insisted that we plug it in all at once so that we could see the finished product.

After what felt like an eternity, Bella emerged from the house carrying to steaming mugs of hot chocolate. They both had mini marshmallows floating on top.

"Do you like marshmallows?" She asked quietly, passing me a mug. "I wasn't sure."

"Silly Bella," I said. "I like everything if it comes from you."

She smiled, and another impossibly awkward silence passed us as we sipped our hot chocolate.

"Ready for the big show?" Bella asked, placing her mug on top of the hood of her truck. I nodded and walked out to the street.

"Close your eyes and wait for me to get there," she shouted from the side of the house, where she had to plug the extension cord into the main power supply.

I turned around and waited. I heard her running, and I prayed she wouldn't trip. I knew she was trying not to look at her house as she ran to me. When she joined me, we gave each other anxious grins.

"One, two, three," we said together, and turned around to face her now lit-up house.

The lights were beautiful, of course. She was the brightest one on her block. But the way the lights casted on her face was the truly breathtaking moment. They made her eyes sparkle, and they brought out her creamy skin and delicate blush. She was unaware of my survey, her attention totally absorbed in her own lights.

"Bella," I whispered, causing her to look at me with curious eyes. Maybe she saw the fire in my own eyes. She didn't look away. I could feel her breath on my lips.

I took a step that brought me in front of her and even closer than I was before. My hand reached up and touched her cheek on its own accord – I was too far gone to control any part of me except my brain. "Bella, I'm going to kiss you."

I wasn't waiting for permission. I was past that point. But I was slightly surprised when she whispered, "Okay." Because then, she closed her eyes and tilted her head as an invitation. She was leaving the rest up to me. I took another step and grabbed her face with both hands. I took a split second to look over her beautiful face; to take in her smooth skin and her red nose and long eyelashes. After that, I couldn't resist. I lowered my mouth to hers and reveled in that wonderful sensation of happiness. Her lips were home to me. I couldn't hold back this time. My mouth molded to hers as if we were two pieces to the same puzzle. She had to feel it.

I touched my tongue to her lips and she readily took me in. The way she kissed me made me feel some hope that maybe, just maybe, she would let me love her the way she deserved to be loved. A part of my mind speculated that she would put up another wall, even after I'd thoroughly proved to her that we had passion and chemistry. I kissed her gently, trying to show her that beyond passion and chemistry, there was love. My fingers worked their way to the loose strands of hair spilling out from her hat. I ran my fingers through the chocolate colored silk, hoping to convey my desire to take care of her. I prayed that she could understand all of this through the kiss and my touches.

She started to ease off, her mouth slowly coming to a halt. My heart broke. The wall was up.

"Edward." She said my name as if she was conflicted. I rested my forehead against hers, refusing to let our contact end. "Edward," she said again, in a tortured way. "I can't."

There was a bead of moisture on her cheek, and I wiped it away with my thumb and kissed the tear trail. "I'm sorry, Bella."

"I want to," she whispered, her eyes tightly closed. "I want to be ready."

I continued to wipe away and kiss away her tears. "It's okay, Bella."

"I'm so sorry." She pulled away from me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She took another step back. "I'm sorry," she repeated.

Then, she was gone.

**BPOV**

I was an idiot...I knew that much.

The feel of Edward's lips against mine as he kissed me was familiar and thrilling at the same time. I didn't think it would ever be something I would get used to, and with what I had just done, I wouldn't have been surprised if it was the last kiss we shared.

But it wasn't fair to lead Edward on if I didn't have my mind made up...If I wasn't sure what I wanted.

Earlier in the afternoon, while Edward was off buying an abundance of Christmas lights to fuel my decorating frenzy, I received an unexpected and unwelcome phone call. I was distracted by a string of stubborn tangled Christmas lights when my phone rang. Assuming it was Edward calling again to try and convince me to buy fewer lights, I answered the phone with an annoyed sigh.

"Yes, Edward, four more boxes of colored lights. You can never be too-", I was interrupted by the last voice I expected or wanted to hear.

"Bella, do you mind telling me what the _hell_ you think you are doing?"

My heart stopped and my hands began to shake from the surprise of hearing his voice.

"Jacob?"

"Who else would it be?" I could tell he was frustrated already, and I proceeded with caution.

"I don't know..."

"You don't? Who is Edward? Is that the guy you spent Thanksgiving with instead of your own family?"

Well, he sure didn't waste any time getting to the point.

I sighed, turning away from the string of lights, and took a seat on the couch. I rested my head in my hands and closed my eyes, wanting to avoid this conversation at all costs. "It's none of your business, Jacob."

"I think it is my business, Bella. Charlie was really upset."

"Don't get all high and mighty on me, Jake. Since when do you care about Charlie's feelings? About _anyone's_ feelings, really?"

I heard Jake huff through the phone, and I could tell he was getting frustrated. "Charlie is like family to me. I care about him just as much as I do my own father."

"_Family?_" I scoffed, "You lost the right to call Charlie family when you broke my heart—"

"I didn't break anyone's heart, Bella...you broke your own. You were the one to walk away."

His words caused a sharp pain in my chest and tears in my eyes. The last thing I wanted to do was sit on my couch and rehash my breakup with Jacob, especially if Edward was going to be back any minute.

"Jacob, I really don't want to talk about this. Is there any other reason you called?"

"I just wanted to find out who this guy was that you abandoned us for."

I tried to ignore Jake's attempt at baiting me for an argument once again, "He is just a friend. His niece is one of my students, so we met the first week of school and he's been showing me around town."

"Yeah... I'm sure that's exactly what happened."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, immediately defensive.

"Bella, you couldn't be 'just friends' with a guy if your life depended on it."

"Excuse me?" I all but screeched.

"You heard me. Not once in your life have you been only friends with a guy. Hell, you and I started out as friends and look where that ended up."

"Just what are you getting at, Jake?"

"All I'm saying is, I know how this is going to end up. You're going to fall for him, and maybe he'll fall for you too, but you'll mess it all up. You're just so desperate for marriage and a family, it doesn't matter who gives it to you."

I choked back a sob, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of my tears. Who was this man I was talking to? What happened to the Jacob that I had fallen in love with five years ago? Somewhere along the line he had changed into a man I didn't know anymore, and that realization caused a small part of me to be thankful for the fact that he had refused to move things forward in our relationship.

The heavy silence must have clued Jake in on the fact that he had taken things a little too far.

"Listen, Bells—"

"Don't call me that."

"-I'm sorry if I was a little harsh, but it was wrong for you to stay there for the holiday. Thanksgiving is about family, and you shared it with a bunch of strangers."

My temper flared as he talked about my relationship with Alice and Edward. Who was he to decide who my friends were and how much time I spent with them? He didn't have any right to care about it anymore.

"Those _strangers_ have been more of a family to me than you ever could have been, Jacob. They care about what makes me happy, and they want to spend time with me. They don't make me feel like I am stupid, or like I am a waste of their time. They love me, and I loved spending that day with them. I would do it all over again."

I could almost hear Jacob rolling his eyes at me over the phone, and I could imagine what he would have said if I had given him a chance to speak. _Quit with the dramatics, Bella. You're being ridiculous. What does that have to do with anything?_

But I didn't slow down, or give him a chance to speak.

"And Edward is an amazing guy. When I was brand new in town and didn't know a soul, he and his sister took me in. He invited me to dinner and ice cream and showed me around town, and he didn't let me feel alone. Whether he is more than a friend to me is none of your business. You don't need to know anything else about my life, Jacob, because you aren't part of it anymore."

I hung up before he could retort and buried my head in my hands, finally allowing the sobs that I was holding back to break free. My body shook with each sob as one question kept echoing in my mind.

_Was Jacob right?_

Of course I wanted to be married and to raise a family, but was that the only reason why I was interested in Edward? Was that not one of the first things I had pictured when I imagined us together? Our little perfect family in the perfect back yard of our perfect little house?

Would I be able to tell the difference between my desire for Edward and my desire for the perfect life? There was no doubt that Edward could give me the perfect life I wanted...but was he just a stepping stone to get to my goal?

He deserved more than that. Edward was a beautiful man that deserved love and devotion... He didn't deserve to be used. Was I using him?

_Was Jacob right?_

The ringing of my phone caused me to jump and I anxiously wiped my tears away as I saw that it was Edward calling me. I cleared my throat before answering the phone, hoping to sound normal.

"Hey, Bella, I got all of the lights, and some food. I'm about to pull into the drive—can you help me bring the bags out of the truck?"

"Sure, I'll be right out..."

My voice trailed off as the same thought remained, echoing throughout my mind for the remainder of the afternoon. Through dinner, decorating, and that kiss..._Was Jacob right?..._

As I stumbled into the house, leaving Edward alone in the front yard, I struggled to regain my composure. I was fighting back tears and taking deep breaths, waving my hands in front of my face like they would magically make the wetness in my eyes go away. What type of horrible person was I to string Edward along while I tried to make up my mind about what I wanted?

My stomach churned as Jacob's words from earlier echoed in my mind. I knew the more I replayed them in my mind, the more upset I would become..and the more I would be convinced that he was right.

Without thinking I pulled out my cell phone, ignoring a missed call from Charlie, and called the first person who came to mind. I knew she could fix this.

"Bella!" her excited voice chimed through the earpiece.

"Alice? I need your help." My voice was shaky as I tried to hide my tears.

"What's wrong? Did the lights come out okay?"

I let out a weak laugh at her questioning and smiled, "Yes. They're fine. It looks like a winter wonderland in my front yard. I actually just need some advice about Edward." I winced, hating that I had to call her in the first place, and dreading her reaction to my request. To my surprise, her answering tone was very calm and businesslike.

"Okay, let's hear it. You called the right person."

"Yeah, um... Okay, I guess I'll just start from the beginning," I mumbled, more to my self than to Alice. "Jacob called me today-"

"WHAT? What did he say?"

Now _that_ was the response I was expecting. Relieved that diplomatic Alice had disappeared and bubbly, take-the-bull-by-the-horns Alice had returned, I dove head first into the story. As much as it hurt to re-hash the entire conversation so soon, I knew it was something that needed to be done in order to clear my mind. Alice listened intently, gasping and cursing in all of the right places, and I could tell she was brainstorming on the other end of the phone.

"...And now every time I think of Edward, I keep thinking of what Jacob said and I don't know if I am attracted to Edward just because he is someone who seems interested in me and might want to settle down and have a family, or if I am genuinely interested in him! What if Jacob is right and I am just using him?"

As soon as those words left my mouth, I remembered who I was talking to. Best friend or not, Alice was Edward's little sister and she was fiercely protective of him. "Oh God, Alice... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called. This is such a mess, and I wasn't even thinking about you and Edward..."

"Don't be ridiculous, Bella," Alice chided, "I'm glad that you called and are being honest with me about this. It's better than you trying to figure this out all on your own. Now, I have a plan."

"Okay..." I answered cautiously.

"I have someone I want you to meet. You need to hear me out before you interrupt me, Bella, or you will seriously be left to do this by yourself."

I sighed. Alice knew me too well. So, I kept my mouth shut and settled down on my couch. I noticed as I glanced out of the window that Edward's car was gone.

"Alright, Alice. Let's hear it."

"Okay. This is a guy I know through some of Carlisle's work functions. He is also a professor at OU. He teaches English and has only been there a few years so he is around Edward's age. I think you would really like talking to him."

"Alice, how is bringing another guy into the picture going to help? It's only going to confuse me more!"

"Because, if you're really only looking for a husband/baby daddy then James—that's his name by the way—would be a perfect candidate. However, if you truly have feelings for Edward, this guy won't even be a blip on your radar."

"So...you think I should go on a date," I repeated slowly.

"Yes. Don't tell Edward about it though. This will just be between you and me. You'll know by the end of the date whether Edward is the one you want."

"I don't know, Alice. What if Edward finds out? Won't that hurt us even more?"

I could hear her sigh and I knew she was rolling her eyes at me. "He won't find out...and if he does, you can just explain and he'll understand. You're doing this all for him, Bella. Don't you want to just be at peace with what you feel?"

"Okay, okay. I'll do it."

"Perfect! I'll give him your number and he'll call you before the end of the week. Don't worry, Bella...this will all work out!"

I reluctantly agreed and hung up the phone, praying that I was making the right decision.

**EPOV**

_Dear Edward Masen,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. My name is Peter Hoyt. I am the music director at the University of South Carolina in Beaufort. As you might know, the University of South Carolina in Beaufort is a new institution, and the music program is a constantly improving process._

_I'm writing to you to inform you that as of May of next year, I will be retired. I've invested time into this music program, and I would only trust it to someone who has the qualifications and experience to lead it to success. That is why I've spent the last three months looking for an educator such as yourself. You were highly recommended by Miss Tanya Denali. It was, in fact, on her suggestion that I decided to write you._

_There will be a conference in the middle of December, one that I'm sure you were planning on attending. If you have the opportunity to make it, please let me know so we can arrange to meet and discuss your qualifications._

_If you have any questions, please email me or leave word with my secretary._

_Sincerely,_

_Peter Hoyt_

The letter fell from my hands to the floor as I picked up my cell phone and dialed a number I knew by heart.

"Ah, Edward," the smooth voice said knowingly. "I've missed you."

* * *

So, what did you think?

Yes-it's been forever! Coldasicex3 and I have been incredibly busy lately, but I can promise you the story is always in the back of our mind. YES we will finish the story, but it will take a while. Just be patient with us! We have decided not to update again until the story is finished and we can give you regular updates...so the next time you see an update, get excited! That means the story is finished and we will FINALLY be able to give you the regular updates you've been asking for! We love you all, and your messages and words of encouragement really help us get motivated to write again. Sometimes you just lose the inspiration, whether it be a harsh review, a job that sucks the life out of you, school, or simply too many distractions... Stick with us-we'll finish this!


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